What is "whistle"

Whistle \Whis"tle\, v. t.

1. To form, utter, or modulate by whistling; as, to whistle a tune or an air.

2. To send, signal, or call by a whistle. He chanced to miss his dog; we stood still till he had whistled him up. --Addison. To whistle off.

   1. To dismiss by a whistle; -- a term in hawking. ``AS a long-winged hawk when he is first whistled off the fist, mounts aloft.''
      --Burton.

   2. Hence, in general, to turn loose; to abandon; to dismiss.

      I 'ld whistle her off, and let her down the wind To prey at fortune.
      --Shak.

      Note: ``A hawk seems to have been usually sent off in this way, against the wind when sent in search of prey; with or down the wind, when turned loose, and abandoned.''
      --Nares.

Whistle \Whis"tle\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Whistled; p. pr. & vb. n. Whistling.] [AS. hwistlian; akin to Sw. hvissla, Dan. hvisle, Icel. hv[=i]sla to whisper, and E. whisper. [root]43. See Whisper.]

1. To make a kind of musical sound, or series of sounds, by forcing the breath through a small orifice formed by contracting the lips; also, to emit a similar sound, or series of notes, from the mouth or beak, as birds.

   The weary plowman leaves the task of day, And, trudging homeward, whistles on the way.
   --Gay.

2. To make a shrill sound with a wind or steam instrument, somewhat like that made with the lips; to blow a sharp, shrill tone.

3. To sound shrill, or like a pipe; to make a sharp, shrill sound; as, a bullet whistles through the air.

   The wild winds whistle, and the billows roar.
   --Pope.

Whistle \Whis"tle\, n. [AS. hwistle a pipe, flute, whistle. See Whistle, v. i.]

1. A sharp, shrill, more or less musical sound, made by forcing the breath through a small orifice of the lips, or through or instrument which gives a similar sound; the sound used by a sportsman in calling his dogs; the shrill note of a bird; as, the sharp whistle of a boy, or of a boatswain's pipe; the blackbird's mellow whistle.

   Might we but hear The folded flocks, penned in their wattled cotes, . . . Or whistle from the lodge.
   --Milton.

   The countryman could not forbear smiling, . . . and by that means lost his whistle.
   --Spectator.

   They fear his whistle, and forsake the seas.
   --Dryden.

2. The shrill sound made by wind passing among trees or through crevices, or that made by bullet, or the like, passing rapidly through the air; the shrill noise (much used as a signal, etc.) made by steam or gas escaping through a small orifice, or impinging against the edge of a metallic bell or cup.

3. An instrument in which gas or steam forced into a cavity, or against a thin edge, produces a sound more or less like that made by one who whistles through the compressed lips; as, a child's whistle; a boatswain's whistle; a steam whistle (see Steam whistle, under Steam).

   The bells she jingled, and the whistle blew.
   --Pope.

4. The mouth and throat; -- so called as being the organs of whistling. [Colloq.]

   So was her jolly whistle well ywet.
   --Chaucer.

   Let's drink the other cup to wet our whistles.
   --Walton.

   Whistle duck (Zo["o]l.), the American golden-eye.

Old English hwistlian "to whistle," from Proto-Germanic *hwis-, of imitative origin (cognates: Old Norse hvisla "to whisper," Danish hvisle "to hiss;" see whisper (v.)). Used also in Middle English of the hissing of serpents; in 17c. it also could mean "whisper." Transitive use from late 15c. Related: Whistled; whistling. At public events, often an expression of support or encouragement in U.S., but often derisive in Britain. To whistle for (with small prospect of getting) is perhaps from nautical whistling for a wind, an old sailor's superstition during a calm. "Such men will not whistle during a storm" [Century Dictionary]. To whistle "Dixie" is from 1940.

"tubular musical instrument sounded by blowing," Old English hwistle (see whistle (v.)). Meaning "sound formed by pursing the lips and blowing" is from mid-15c. To wet one's whistle "take a drink" (late 14c.) originally may have referred to pipes, or be an allusion to the throat as a sort of pipe. Phrase clean as a whistle is recorded from 1878. Railroad whistle-stop (at which trains stop only if the engineer hears a signal from the station) is recorded from 1934.

n. 1 A device designed to be placed in the mouth in order, or driven by steam or otherwise, to make a whistling sound. 2 An act of whistling. 3 A shrill, high-pitched sound made by whistling. vb. 1 (context ambitransitive English) To make a shrill, high-pitched sound by forcing air through the mouth. To produce a whistling sound, restrictions to the flow of air are created using the teeth, tongue and lips. 2 (context intransitive English) To move in such a way as to create a whistling sound. 3 (context transitive English) To send, signal, or call by a whistle.

1. v. make whistling sounds; "He lay there, snoring and whistling"

2. move with, or as with, a whistling sound; "The bullets whistled past him"

3. utter or express by whistling; "She whistled a melody"

4. move, send, or bring as if by whistling; "Her optimism whistled away these worries"

5. make a whining, ringing, or whistling sound; "the kettle was singing"; "the bullet sang past his ear" [syn: sing]

6. give a signal by whistling; "She whistled for her maid"

1. n. the sound made by something moving rapidly or by steam coming out of a small aperture [syn: whistling]

2. the act of signalling (e.g., summoning) by whistling or blowing a whistle; "the whistle signalled the end of the game" [syn: whistling]

3. acoustic device that forces air or steam against an edge or into a cavity and so produces a loud shrill sound

4. an inexpensive fipple flute [syn: pennywhistle, tin whistle]

A whistle is a single-note woodwind instrument, in the percussion section of the orchestra, and with many other applications in sport and other fields.

Whistle may also refer to:

An aerodynamic whistle (or call) is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of gas, most commonly air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means. Whistles vary in size from a small slide whistle or nose flute type to a large multi-piped church organ.

Whistles have been around since early humans first carved out a gourd or branch and found they could make sound with it. In prehistoric Egypt, small shells were used as whistles. Many present day wind instruments are inheritors of these early whistles. With the rise of more mechanical power, other forms of whistles have been developed.

One characteristic of a whistle is that it creates a pure, or nearly pure, tone. There are many ways to create pure tones, but we restrict the descriptions here to what are called aerodynamic whistles. Strictly speaking, they are fluid mechanical whistles since they occur in gases, such as air or steam, as well as in liquids, such as water. The only difference between them is the fluid density and the sound speed.

The word aerodynamic whistle is used here since it is in common use. The conversion of flow energy to sound comes from an interaction between a solid material and a fluid stream. The forces in some whistles are sufficient to set the solid material in motion. Classic examples are Aeolian tones that result in galloping power lines, or the Tacoma Narrows Bridge (galloping Gertie). Other examples are circular disks set into vibration.

The whistles described in this article are in a subclass where only the fluid is in motion and there is no significant dependent motion of the interacting solid. Depending on the geometry there are two basic types of whistles, those that generate sound though oscillations of fluid mass flow and those that generate sound through oscillations of the force applied to the surrounding medium.

Whistle was a supporter's pressure group, created by fans of West Ham United that were critical of its Chairman, Terry Brown, following the club's relegation in 2003 and the subsequent sale of many of their top players. In April 2004, the group published a dossier accusing the board of financial incompetence, and asking 180 questions regarding the club's finances. Whistle claimed that around £20 million had been pledged to them by anonymous investors willing to buy into the club via a share issue if major lenders could force Brown to step down. Barclays Bank were the biggest single lender to the club.

Spokesman Mike Hanna was quoted as saying:

"Despite selling all the crown jewels, which you can't sell again, Brown has failed to address the debt situation. We're now a Nationwide First Division club and we are not generating the revenue to handle our current financial position. The banks are begging for a credible alternative. They are waiting for an approach which will handle the debt. We have people associated with ourselves who are influential within the City and would offer the financial institutions an alternative."

Terry Brown and West Ham threatened to initiate legal action towards its members. Brown said at the time:

"We do not have a financial crisis at West Ham and have not had one at any time since our relegation. It is unacceptable that, at such a crucial time in our season, someone should seek to undermine all the hard work of Alan, the players and our staff by issuing information that contains so many lies simply to mislead and demoralise our fans who have given West Ham such fantastic support throughout the season. We will be taking legal action against Mr Hanna and other members of the Whistle group to protect the club from these scurrilous allegations. May I urge every single fan to ignore this nonsense and back our boys."

West Ham's solicitors followed up with a letter to the group:

"We demand that you immediately desist from making any further untrue and defamatory remarks regarding our client. If you fail to provide an undertaking confirming that you will do so, any further such statements will be used to support a claim for aggravated damages in the proceedings our client is going to initiate against you."

Legal proceedings were commenced against three members of Whistle. During 2004, two of the members submitted public apologies.

Whistle was an American 1980s hip hop and contemporary R&B group that comprised Jazzy Jazz, Kool Doobie, and DJ Silver Spinner. They later brought in Kraze and then Terk after Kool Doobie left the group to go solo. Its biggest hit single as a rap group was "(Nothing Serious) Just Buggin’" in 1986. The group's first two albums, Whistle, released in 1986, and Transformation, released in 1988, were produced by the Kangol Kid from UTFO and DJ Howie Tee. Kangol and Howie brought in keyboardist/sound wizard, Gary Pozner (who had already become a staff producer at Select Records), to handle the sound sampling and help with the beat creation. Whistle released a third album, Always and Forever, in 1990, also produced by Kangol Kid, and a fourth album, Get The Love, in 1992.

After the release of its second album, the group gave up rhyming in favor of contemporary R&B. "Barbara's Bedroom" (1987), "Bad Habbit" (1990). Its love ballads included "Chance For Our Love" (1986), "Please Love Me" (1986), "Still My Girl" (1987), "Right Next To Me" (1988), Its biggest R&B hit single a cover version of Heatwave's " Always and Forever" (1990), and "If You Don't Say" (1992). After this, the group disbanded, as Jazzy Jazz went on to form another group called G.H.P. (Group Home Productions) with Free Daydreamer of the group Entouch and Will Skillz of the group Pure Blend. Terk went on to become involved in local and national politics while continuing work as an entrepreneur in entertainment.

Whistle is a 2003 Tamil Slasher film which is a remake of the English Slasher film Urban Legend. Although the film was an average grosser, its music became successful. The film has Sherin and debutant Vikramaditya in the lead role. With Vivek, Gayathri Raguram, Livingston, and Divyadarshini in supporting roles.

Whistle is the registered trade name of a chemical mixture used in the demilitarization of chemical warfare agents. It is a liquid which can be used to replace sodium hypochlorite or sodium hydroxide in some applications.

Whistle (1978), a novel by James Jones, tells the story of four wounded South Pacific veterans brought back by hospital ship to the United States during World War II. Much of the story takes place in a veterans hospital in the fictional city of Luxor, Tennessee (based on the city of Memphis).

Whistle forms the third part of a war trilogy, after From Here to Eternity (1951) and The Thin Red Line (1962). Jones presented the characters of Mart Winch, Bobby Prell, Marion Landers, and Johnny Strange as Welsh, Witt, Fife, and Storm in The Thin Red Line.

James Jones died in 1977 before finishing the novel. The final three chapters were completed by Willie Morris based on taped conversations with the author and extensive notes he'd already written. Jones expected that his novel would say, "Just about everything I have ever had to say, or will ever have to say, on the human condition of war."

"Whistle" is a song by American rapper Flo Rida from his fourth album Wild Ones (2012). It was released on April 24, 2012 as the third single from the album. "Whistle" was written by Flo Rida, David Glass, Marcus Killian, Justin Franks, Breyan Isaac and Antonio Mobley while production was handled by DJ Frank E and Glass. It is a song about oral sex.

"Whistle" is a pop-rap song characterized by a whistling melody. Upon its release, the song received mostly mixed reviews from music critics. They generally praised its pop sound, noting that it had the potential of becoming another hit with its "catchy" hook. However, several critics gave a negative review for the lyrics, interpreted as a thinly veiled euphemism for oral sex, calling it "the least subtle song ever". The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Flo Rida's third number one hit and his first since 2009's " Right Round". "Whistle" was a commercial success, topping the charts in some countries, including Australia, Israel and Sweden, and peaked within the top ten of the charts in others, including Denmark, the Netherlands, Spain and the United Kingdom.

An accompanying music video for the song, directed by Marc Klasfeld, was released on May 24, 2012. It was filmed in Acapulco, Mexico and makes use of split screen at various points. It mostly shows shots of Flo Rida and several girls on a beach. Upon its release, it received positive to mixed reviews from critics, who noted that it was a perfect accompaniment for the song. Flo Rida also promoted the song by performing it during the finale of the talent show, The Voice. This song is the second track on Now 44. The cover image of the single also drew praise for its subtlety and originality.

"Whistle" is a song by Australian recording artist and songwriter Kylie Minogue, in collaboration with the Icelandic band múm, for the motion picture Jack & Diane, in which Minogue is also featured. It is the main track for the motion picture, which premiered in 2012.

The song received favorable reviews from music critics, who felt the song was a calm warm track, along with the comparisons with Björk.

Whistle is a 2013 Indian Kannada suspense supernatural thriller film starring Chiranjeevi Sarja alongside Pranitha Subhash directed by Prashant Raj of Love Guru fame. The film is a romantic love thriller story which revolves between an engaged couple, who are chasing their dreams, first of its kind in Kannada Film Industry. It is a remake of Tamil movie Pizza, blockbuster of 2012. Notable directors Guruprasad and Chi. Gurudutt appear in the supporting roles in the film.

"Whistle (While You Work It)" is a song by British recording artist Katy Tiz. It was written by Tiz, Kinetics & One Love, and songwriter Emily Warren for Tiz's debut studio album. It was released onto iTunes on 10 February 2015.

A Simlish (The language in most of The Sims games) version of the song was recorded and included in an expansion pack for The Sims 4, titled The Sims 4: Get to Work. The song is also featured in a commercial for the online retailer ShoeDazzle and the Philips Sonicare electric toothbrush.

Whistle is an action- thriller film directed by Ammad Azhar and produced by Mian Yasin. The film stars Farhan Ally Agha, Sohail Sameer and Tatmain Ul Qulb in the lead roles. It is set to release under the production banner of Mian Brothers & Meditation Productions.