Crossword clues for whistling
The Collaborative International Dictionary
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.]
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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. To make a shrill sound with a wind or steam instrument, somewhat like that made with the lips; to blow a sharp, shrill tone.
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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.
Whistling \Whis"tling\, a. & n. from Whistle, v. Whistling buoy. (Naut.) See under Buoy. Whistling coot (Zo["o]l.), the American black scoter. Whistling Dick. (Zo["o]l.)
An Australian shrike thrush ( Colluricincla Selbii).
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The song thrush. [Prov. Eng.] Whistling duck. (Zo["o]l.)
The golden-eye.
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A tree duck. Whistling eagle (Zo["o]l.), a small Australian eagle ( Haliastur sphenurus); -- called also whistling hawk, and little swamp eagle. Whistling plover. (Zo["o]l.)
The golden plover.
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The black-bellied, or gray, plover. Whistling snipe (Zo["o]l.), the American woodcock. Whistling swan. (Zo["o]l.)
The European whooper swan; -- called also wild swan, and elk.
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An American swan ( Olor columbianus). See under Swan. Whistling teal (Zo["o]l.), a tree duck, as Dendrocygna awsuree of India. Whistling thrush. (Zo["o]l.)
Any one of several species of singing birds of the genus Myiophonus, native of Asia, Australia, and the East Indies. They are generally black, glossed with blue, and have a patch of bright blue on each shoulder. Their note is a loud and clear whistle.
The song thrush. [Prov. Eng.]
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
Old English hwistlung, verbal noun from hwistlian (see whistle (v.)).
Wiktionary
n. A shrill, breathy sound; a whistle. vb. (present participle of whistle English)
WordNet
n. the sound made by something moving rapidly or by steam coming out of a small aperture [syn: whistle]
the act of whistling a tune; "his cheerful whistling indicated that he enjoyed his work"
the act of signalling (e.g., summoning) by whistling or blowing a whistle; "the whistle signalled the end of the game" [syn: whistle]
Wikipedia
Whistling without the use of an artificial whistle is achieved by creating a small opening with one's lips and then blowing or sucking air through the hole. The air is moderated by the lips, tongue, teeth or fingers (placed over the mouth) to create turbulence, and the mouth acts as a resonant chamber to enhance the resulting sound by acting as a type of Helmholtz resonator.
Usage examples of "whistling".
His horse troops were affrighted and dispersed by balls of fire which flew into their midst, trailing sparks and whistling and banging.
Next thing he knew, he was being wrenched inside the common room by about a dozen pairs of hands, and was facing the whole of Gryffindor House, all of whom were screaming, applauding, and whistling.
The older apprentice, Charlie, sauntered into their office, whistling a tune, and smiling cheekily at the two women.
He laughed softly, as one well pleased with his own astuteness, doffed his hat with a politeness almost exaggerated, and whistling his dog he abruptly left her.
Captain Barker, left alone, rearranged his neckcloth, contemplated his crooked legs for a moment with some disgust, and began to trot up and down the grass-plot, whistling the while with great energy and no regard for tune.
I remember once, in the confusion and hurry of baffling winds and whistling shot, having always turbans before the eye, and the bastinado in mind, to have beseeched St.
Then I return to my lost world--to the whistling, dry-leaved, thin oaks that are not these giant ones--to the stony little hillsides and treacherous river-pits that are not these secure pastures--to the sharp scents that are not these scents--to the companionship of poor Pluton and Dis--to the Street of the Fountain up which marches to meet me, as when I was a rude little puppy, my friend, my protector, my earliest adoration, Monsieur le Vicomte Bouvier de Brie.
The tunnel down which they walked split at a crossroads, branching off in five directions, but Diocletia led them toward the light, toward the whistling wheeze.
There was Aylward squatting cross-legged in his shirt, while he scrubbed away at his chain-mail brigandine, whistling loudly the while.
Will removed the tape from the magnetograph and, whistling to himself, examined the recording.
Whistling to himself, Marler sat in his car, watching his rear-view mirror.
In spite of everything, Ida found that her heart would grow light and gland as she pursued her way along the quiet country road, now in the shade where the trees crowded up on the eastern side, and again in the sunlight between wide stubble fields in which the quails were whistling mellowly to each other.
A blackbird, whose cheery note suggested melodious memories drawn from the heart of the quiet country, was whistling a lively improvisation on the bough of a chestnut-tree, whereof the brown shining buds were just bursting into leaf,--and Alwyn, whose every sense was pleasantly attuned to the small, as well as great, harmonies of nature, paused for a moment to listen to the luscious piping of the feathered minstrel, that in its own wild woodland way had as excellent an idea of musical variation as any Mozart or Chopin.
Shrill whistling came from the mustelid pens, and roaring barks from the pinniped colony down on the beach below.
I broke into her, and she whined and lay for a moment like a rabbit wounded in a trap under my convulsive thrusts no longer to be considered, but at the last moment she too thrust herself up against me, crucified, with a long silent scream, a whistling of outdrawn breath, and I felt the cataclysm shake her to pieces as I was dying on her breast.