really clean.
For many of you, “clean as a whistle” probably means really clean, as in not dirty. For example, “The sink was clean as a whistle after he scrubbed it.” Or maybe you’d say something like, “Since she’s never even had a speeding ticket, her record is clean as a whistle.”
In this post
Why is it called clean as a whistle?
In order to emit the pure notes intended by its maker, a whistle has to be absolutely clean. Anything or anyone as clean as a brand-new whistle or as clear as its sound is bound to be good. All of which means that an organization or person called as ‘clean as a whistle’ has been judged to be guiltless or flawless.”
Where does the saying clean as a whistle?
Clean as a Whistle Origin
The origin of the idiom, clean as a whistle, comes from the early 1800s. The phrase seems to reiterate the older phrase, “as clear as a whistle.” Whistles make a shrill tone piercing silence, reaching over long distances, creating a clear or clean sound.
Is clean as a whistle a metaphor?
Thoroughly or neatly done; also, pure, unsoiled. The early nineteenth-century use of this term, which appears in William Carr’s The Dialect of Craven (1828) as a proverbial simile meaning “wholly” or “entirely,” was in such guise as “Head taken off as clean as a whistle” (W. S. Mayo, Kaloolah, 1849).
What does sober as a whistle mean?
If you describe someone as clean as a whistle, you mean that they are not guilty of having done anything wrong. ‘His private life is as clean as a whistle,’ says McSmith.
How did whistles get the reputation of being clean?
Mouths are full of germs, and lots of them jump over to a whistle invading their turf. A whistle is then about as clean as a mouth, which is to say, not very. The phrase originates in the work of Scotland’s national poet, Robert Burns.
What does quick as a whistle mean?
adjective Quick, smooth, skillful, or easy, as in manner or movement.
What does slick as a whistle mean?
Very-smooth and neat
Very-smooth and neat; also, smoothly, quickly, easily. For example, That salesman is as slick as a whistle, or The fence post went in place slick as a whistle.
What does clean as a pin mean?
tidy
Neat as a pin means tidy, free of dirt, orderly. The phrase neat as a pin may also be rendered as neat as a new pin, which is somewhat more common in British English.
What does the saying clear as a bell mean?
very clear
Definition of (as) clear as a bell
: very clear Clear as a bell, I heard him say my name. It was clear as a bell that morning—not a cloud in the sky. The water was as clear as a bell. : very clearly.
What are two examples of a metaphor?
A metaphor is a literary device that imaginatively draws a comparison between two unlike things.
- “Bill is an early bird.”
- “Life is a highway.”
- “Her eyes were diamonds.”
Have a clean slate meaning?
Definition of clean slate
: a person’s record (as from a school or a job) that shows no evidence of any problems, broken rules, etc. : a clean record Everyone who comes to this school starts with a clean slate.
What is clean as you go?
The clean as you go method involves taking opportunities to clean continually throughout the working day and making cleaning part of your daily routine to ensure that surfaces, equipment, waste, and the premises are clean, hygienic, and clutter free.
What does whistling mean in the hood?
Hoses are crucial parts of your engine’s cooling system, but they are also the weakest. Constant circulation of air and cooling fluid through your car’s engine can cause small cracks in hoses, breaking their vacuum seal. The whistling sound you are hearing could be air escaping through these holes.
What does wet your whistle?
What is the meaning of ‘wet one’s whistle’? (Anup Giram, Barshi) This is a relatively old idiom that has been a part of the English language for well over 600 years. The expression is mostly used in informal contexts to mean ‘to have a drink‘ or ‘to satisfy one’s thirst’.
What is the simile of whistle?
2. Whistle, like a devil’s baby.
What is a simile for as clean as?
From Modern English Svartengren listed clean as a baby’s leg, clean as new preen, clean as print, clean as wheat, clean as a leek, clean as carrot, clean as a mackerel (or smelt), clean as a (new) penny, clean as a new pin, clean as a razor, clean as a pick, clean as a pink, and clean as a whistle.
What does sharp as a tack mean?
Mentally acute
Mentally acute. For example, She’s very witty—she’s sharp as a tack. These similes are also used literally to mean “having a keen cutting edge” and have largely replaced the earlier sharp as a needle or thorn. The first dates from about 1900, the variant from the mid-1800s.
What does the phrase done and dusted mean?
to successfully complete something
(K. Shanthi, Hyderabad) The expression is mostly used in British English in informal contexts to mean to successfully complete something. When a businessman says that a deal has been done and dusted, he means that he has been successful in clinching it; there is nothing left to be done.
What does as gentle as a lamb mean?
kind , innocent
Definition. Said about kind , innocent, mild-mannered people.
Is pretty as a picture an idiom?
Very attractive, as in She looked pretty as a picture in her new hat. The noun picture alone was used to describe beautiful objects from the early 1800s on; this locution, however, dates from about 1900.