whistle 
his setting his mind upon a common whistle and buying 
it for four times its real value. 
If a man likes to do it, he must pay /or his whistle. 
George Eliot, Daniel Dei'onda, xxxv. (Davies.) 
To wet one's whistle, to take a drink of liquor, perhaps 
with reference to the wetting of a wooden whistle to im- 
prove the tone, perhaps merely in comparison of the throat 
and vocal organs with a musical instrument. Sometimes, 
erroneously, to whet one's whistle. [Colloquial and jocose.] 
As any jay she light was and jolyf, 
So was hir joly irhistle wel ytret. 
Chaucer, Reeve's Tale, 1. 236. 
I wet^ my ivhystell, as good drinkers do. Je crocque la 
pie. Wyll you wete your whystell f I'alsijrave, p. 780. 
Worth the whistle, worth the trouble or pains of call- 
ing for. 
I have been xeorth the whistle. Shak., Lear, iv. 2. 29. 
whistle-belly (hwis'l-bel"!), «. That causes 
rumbliug or whistling in the belly. [Slang.] 
*'I thought you wouldn't appreciate the widow's tap," 
said East, watching him with a grin. ''Regala.r whisUe- 
belly vengeance, and no mistake ! " 
T. Kughes, Tom Brown at Oxford, II. xviii. 
whistle-cup (hwis'1-kup), n. A drinking-cup 
iiaving a whistle appended, awarded, as a prize 
in a drinking-bout, to the last person able to 
blow it. 
whistle-drunk (hwis'l-dmngk), o. Too drunk 
to whistle; very drunk. [Slang.] 
He was indeed, according to the vulgar phrase, whistle- 
dntnk; for, before he had swallowed the third bottle he 
became so entirely overpowered that, though he was not 
carried off to bed till long after, the parson considered 
him as absent. Fieldiny, Tom Jones, xii. 2. {Davies.) 
whistle-duck (hwis'1-duk), n. 1. Same as 
n-histlcr, 1 (c). — 2. Same as icltistlcii-iiif/. 
whistle-fish (hwis'1-tish), ?i. Arockling; spe- 
eifloally, the three-bearded rockling: same as 
sea-loach. Also weasel-fish. 
I believe . . . that, while preserving the sound of the 
name, the term has been changed, and a very different 
word substituted, and that for whistle-Jish we ought to 
read weasel-fish. Both the Three and Five-bearded Rock- 
lings were called mustela from the days of Pliny to those 
of Rondelet, and thence to the present time. 
Yarrell, British Fishes, II. 272. 
whistler (hwis'ler), n. [< ME. whistJere, hicist- 
k-re, < AS. hwistlere, a whistler, piper, < htcist- 
lian, whistle: see tohistle.'] 1. One who or that 
which whistles. 
One guinea, to be conferred upon the ablest whistler. 
Strutt, Sports and Pastimes, p. 474. 
Specifically — (a) The hoary marmot, Arctomys pruino.tus, 
a large marmot found in northerly and western moun- 
6908 
whistling-buoy (hwis'ling-boi), H. See bum/, 1 
(with cut). 
whistlingly (hwis'ling-li), adv. In a whistling 
manner ; with a sibilant or shrill sound. Stor- 
month. 
whistling-shop (hwis'ling-shop), )(. A spirit- 
shop, especially a secret and illicit one. in the 
quotation, the pla'ce referred to is a room in a prison for 
debtors where spirits are sold secretly. [.Slang. ] 
"Bless your heart, no, sir," replied Job; "a whistling- 
shop, sir, is where they sell spirits." 
Dickens, Pickwick, xlv. 
Whistlyt (hwist'li), adv. [< whisfl + -lifi. Cf. 
wisthj!] Silently. 
whist-play (hwist'pla), ". Play in the game of 
whist. 
The fact is that all rules of whist-play depend upon and 
are referable to general principles. 
Eru^c. Brit., XXIV. 644. 
whist-player (hwist'pla"6r), 
whist. 
One who plays 
About 1830 some of the best French whist-players, with 
Deschapelles at their head, modified and improved the 
old-fashioned system. Encyc. Brit., XXIV. 544. 
whitl (hwit), ?!. [A var. of *wit, a var. of wight, 
< ME. uigt, wihi, sometimes with, <. AS. wiht: 
see wUjht^. The change of initial w- to w/)- is 
perhaps due in this case to emphasis (so wanfi 
is sometimes pronounced emphatically whont). 
The notion that whit is derived by metathesis 
from AS. wiht is erroneous.] The smallest part, 
particle, bit, or degree ; a little ; a jot, tittle, or 
iota : often used adverbially, and generally with 
a negative. 
A meruelous case, that lentlemen should so be ashamed 
of good learning, and neuer a whit ashamed of ill maners. 
Ascham, The Scholemaster, p. 60. 
Nor is the freedom of the will of God any whit abated, 
let, or hindered. Hooker, Eccles. Polity, i. 2. 
whistler i--/r( totttjs prrtinos. 
tainous parts of North America, related to the wood- 
chuck : a translation of the Canadian French name sif- 
fieur. (&) The whistlewing. [U. S.] (c) The widgeon, 
Mareca penelope (see whew-duck). \d) The ring-ouzel, 
Merida tirrquata. See cut under ovzel, 2. [Local, Eng.] 
(e) The green plover or lapwing ; the pewit. 
Tile screech-owl, and the whistler shrill. Webster. 
2. A broken-winded horse ; a roarer. 
The latter of whom is spoken of as a non-stayer and a 
whixUer. The Field, Aug. 27, 1887. (Encyc. Diet.) 
3\. A piper; one who plays on the pipes. Piers 
riowman (B), xv. 47.5.-4. The keeper of a 
shebeen, or unlicensed spivit-shop. [Slang.] 
The turnkeys knows beforehand, and gives the word to 
the wii^lers, and you may wistle for it wen you go to look. 
Dickens, Pickwick, xlv. 
whistlewing (hwis'1-wing), n. The golden- 
eyed du(;k, Clanguhi i/laitcion. Also whistle- 
duel:. wItistliiKi duel'. 
whistle-wood (hwis'l-wnd), «. The striped 
maple, Acer I'enii.ii/lrttKiciiiii, thus named be- 
cause used Vjj- boys to make whistles, the bark 
easily separating from a section of the stem in 
spring. The name is also given to the basswood, TUia 
Americana, having the same property, and in Great Brit- 
ain is locally applied to the mountain-ash, Pyrus aucti- 
paria. and to the common and .sycamore maples, Acer 
cainpestre and A. Psendo-jjlatanus. 
whistling (huis'ling), /I. a. Sounding like a 
wliistle: as, a. irhi.^iliiii/ sonni}. 
whistling-arrow (hwis'ling-ai'T)). ». An ar- 
row whose head whs so frirnied that the air 
rushing through it in its flight produced a whist- 
ling sound: a toy in use in the sixteenth cen- 
tury. 
And Samuel told him every whit. 
1 Sam. ill. 18. 
Are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every 
whit whole on the Sabbath day ? John vii. 23. 
But all your threats I do not fear, 
A'or yet regard one tvhit. 
The Cruel Black (Child's Ballads, III. 376). 
Why, man, you don't seem one wfdt the happier at this. 
Stieridan, The Rivals, iv. 3. 
whit^ (hwit), a. An obsolete or dialectal form 
(surviving especially in old compounds, as whit- 
leather, Wliitstin, etc.) oltvhite^. 
whit-bee (hwit'be), ». See Portland stone, un- 
der stone. 
whitel (hwit), a. and n. [< ME. whit, whijt, qrit, 
hieit, < AS. hwit = OS. 7)!i77= OFries. hwit = D. 
wit = LG. wit = OHG. MHG. «•*.-, G. wciss = 
leel. hvifr = Sw. hvif = Dan. hvid = Goth, hweits, 
white; akin to Skt. fvcta, white, < ■\/ gvit, be 
white, shine: cf. gvitra, gvitna, white, OBulg. 
svietu, light, smtieti, shine, give light, Euss. 
svictii, light, etc. Hence ult. tcheat, whitster, 
ivhittW^, whiting'^, etc.] I. a. 1. Of the color 
of pure snow or any powder of material trans- 
mitting all visible rays without sensible absorp- 
tion ; transmitting and so reflecting to tlie eye 
all the rays of the spectrum combined in the 
same proportions as in the impinging light, and 
tlius, as seen in sunlight, conveying the same 
impression to the eye as sunlight of moderate 
intensity; not tinged or tinted with atiy of the 
proper colors or their compounds; snowy: the 
opposite of black or dark. 
Aniidde a tree fordiye, as whyte as chalk, . . . 
Ther sat a faucon over hir heed ful liye. 
Chaucer, Squire's Tale, 1. 401. 
Fresshe lampraye bake ; open y" pasty, than take whyte 
brede, and cut it thynne, & lay it in a dysshe. 
Bahees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 281. 
A head 
So old and white as this. Shak., Lear, iii. 2. 24. 
Nor ever falls the least white star of snow. 
Tennyson, Lucretius. 
2. Pale; pallid; bloodless, as from fear or cow- 
ardice. 
To turn tehite and swoon at tragic shows. 
Shak., Lover's Complaint, 1. 308. 
Or whispering with white lips — "The foe ! they come!" 
Byron, Childe Harold, iii. 26. 
3. Free from spot or guilt; pure; clean; stain- 
less. 
Calumny 
1'he whitest virtue stiikes. 
Shak., Al. for M., iii. 2. 198. 
In the white way of virtue and true valour 
You liave l)een a pilgrim long. 
Beau, and Fl., Knight of Malta, ii. 5. 
4t. Fair; beautiful. 
" Ve, ywis," quod fresshe Antigone the white. 
Chaucer, Troilns, ii. 8S7. 
white 
Y wa« stalworthe & white. 
Hymns to Virgin, etc. (E. E. T. S.), p. 72. 
5t. Dear; favorite; darling. See whiteboy, I. 
He is great Pi-lnce of Walis ; . . . 
Then ware what is done. 
For he is Henry's white son. 
Greene, Friar Bacon and Friar Bungay (Works, ed. Dyce, 
[I, 174X 
6. Square; honorable; reliable: as, a white 
man. [Slang, U. S.] 
Why, Miss, he 's a friend worth havin', and don't you 
forget it. There aiti't a whiter man than Laramie Jack 
from the Wind River .Vlountains down to Santa V6. 
The Century, XXXIX. 523. 
7t. Gracious; specious; fair-seeming. 
"Ye caused al this fare. 
Trow I," quod she, "for al your wordes white." 
Chaucer, Troilus, iii. 1568. 
8. Gracious; friendly; favorable; auspicious: 
as, a tchite witch. 
Thou, Minerva the whyte, 
Gif thou me wit my letre to devyse. 
Chaucer, Troilus, ii. 1062. 
Till this white hour, these walls were never proud 
T' inclose a guest. Shirley, Grateful Servant, ii. 1. 
The Thanksgiving festival of that year is particularly 
impressed on my mind as a white day. 
H. B. Stowe, Oldtown, p. 336. 
9t. Silver: a,s, white monej. 
Let but the hose be searched, I'll pawn my life 
There's yet the tailor's bill in one o' the pockets, 
And a whit£ thimble that I found i' moonlight 
Jiliddleton {and others). The Widow, iv. 2. 
10. In musical notation, of a note, having an 
open head: as, whole notes and half notes are 
white. Seenote'^. — 11. In 7ier., an epithet used 
instead of argen t to note certain furs which are 
supposed to be represented not in silver but in 
dead white. It is a modern fanciful variation, 
and not good heraldry. — 12. In silverware, 
chased or roughened with the tool, so as to retain 
a slightly granulated and therefore white sur- 
face, as distinguished from that of burnished 
silver. — 13. Bright and clean ; burnished with- 
out ornament, and in no way colored or stained : 
said of armor of steel or iron. — 14. In cerani., 
noting the biscuit when dry and ready for firing, 
because in that state it has grown much lighter 
in color than it was when first molded, and full 
of moisture. — 15. Transparent and colorless, 
as glass or water ; also, with reference to wine, 
light-colored, whitish or yellowish, as opposed 
to red: sometimes used to note wine of even a 
deep-amber color. 
White glass is introduced here and there [in a stained- 
glass window] to heighten the effect in draperies and in 
ornaments. C. H. Moore, Gothic Architecture, p. 303. 
16. Belonging or pertaining to the Carmelites 
or other orders of monks for whose dress white 
is the prescribed color: as, the white friars. 
At the fourth day after evensong hee came to a white 
[Augustinian] abbey. 
Sir T. Malory, Morte d'Arthure, III. ixxviii. 
May Day we went to Seynt Elyn and offerd ther, She 
lith in a ffayer place of religion of whith monks. 
Torkington, Diarie of Eng. Travell, p. 7. 
17. In hot. and zoiil., the compounds of white 
with participial adjectives are numberless, 
as tchite-flnwered, white-headed, white-winged. 
Only a few of these are given below Great 
white egret, little white egret. See egrret. —OiAer 
of the White Eagle, of the White Elephant, of the 
White Falcon. See eagle, etc.— To mark with a 
white stone. See stone. — White admiral See ad- 
miral, 5. — White agaric. Same as purgin'j-agaric. — 
White agate. Same as chalcedony. — White alder. See 
Ctethra and Platylophus. — White ale. (a) A liquor made 
in Devonshire : said to be made of malt and hops, with 
flour, spices, and perhaps an unknown ingredient called 
grout (which see) or ripening. It ia drunk new, and does 
not improve with age. Bickerdyke. (ft) A drink made in 
the south of England, said to consist of common ale to 
which flour and eggs liave been added. — White amber, 
spermaceti. — White amphisbaena, -47«;)/jts&fl'Ha alba, a 
large light-colored species of amphisbiena. — White ant, 
a termite; any member of the genus Termed or family 
Terniitidte (see the technical names, and cut under 
Termes). Though thus qualified as ants, these insects are 
not hymenopterous, but neuropterous. their strong resem- 
blance to ants being deceptive, though it is exhibited not 
otdy in their general appearance but also in their social 
life ami their works. — Wbite antimony. ?>*ie antimony. 
— White arsenic. Same as arsenious acid, iiee arsenious. 
— White art. See black art, under artS.— White ash. 
See ash', 1, and Platylophus, 3.— White-ash breeze, the 
action or tile force of rowing : so called because oars are 
generally made of white ash. [Humorous.] — White asp. 
See <i«pi.— White atrophy of the optic nerve, a form 
of secoiuiary optic nerve atrophy.- White bait. See 
whitebait. — 'White balsam, a substance expressed from 
tile fruit of the (piinquino : sometimes confounded with 
the balsam of ToUi. —White baneberrv. See Actjea.— 
White bass. See ifTiitc-tas*.- White basswood. See 
TOio.— White bath. (o)See6<i(Ai. (b) See Trillium, \. 
—White bay. See Jfai/iwi/cr.- White bear, (a) The 
polar bear, Ursus or Thalassarctos maritimus. The cubs 
are quite wliite, but the adults acquire a dingy-yellowish 
