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View synonyms for

whistle for

verb

  1. informal.
    intr, preposition to seek or expect in vain
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Idioms and Phrases

Ask for or expect without any prospect of success, as in If you want a cash refund, you can just whistle for it . [Mid-1700s]
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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Everton's Abdoulaye Doucoure and Liverpool's Curtis Jones were sent off after the final whistle for second yellow cards.

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The public needs to be reminded of what DEI actually is, rather than allowing Republicans to continue to use it as a dog whistle for unchecked racism and bias.

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He often distinguishes himself as someone who sticks up for neighborhood identity — what some consider a dog whistle for “NIMBYism,” a colloquial term for opposition to large multifamily housing projects or other unwelcome development.

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But the goal didn’t count because the referee blew the whistle for the offside without letting the play be completed.

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Bayern loudly complained at the end after a goal by Matthijs de Ligt didn’t count because the referee blew the whistle for offside without letting the play be completed.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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whistle Dixiewhistle in the dark