play to the whistle

play to the whistle

sports To keep playing the game until the referee blows the whistle and officially stops play. Come on, you guys have got to play to the whistle! I don't care if someone fell on top of the puck—the play is still going on until the ref blows the whistle! I'm sick of watching overpaid stars who don't give it their all. What we really need are hard-working forwards who play to the whistle every night!

See also: play, to, whistle

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