whistle at (someone or something)

1. To express one's desire for someone or something by making a loud whistling sound. Considered rude or lewd if done toward a person. There's a group of men who sit on their porches and whistle at me everyday when I walk to work. I stopped and whistled at my friend's fancy new sports car.

2. To express one's enthusiastic approval or appreciation of someone or something by whistling loudly or wildly. Everyone in the audience was whistling at the band after the superb concert. We all applauded and whistled at the announcement of the winner.

whistle at someone or something

to indicate approval or disapproval of someone or something by whistling. The men whistled at the beautiful woman who walked by. Everyone whistled at the enormous roast of beef the cook's assistant carried in.

whistle at

1. To express admiration or desire for someone or something by whistling: The construction crew whistled at passersby.

2. To express approval or disapproval of someone or something by whistling: The audience whistled at the performers.

See also: whistle

See also:

References in periodicals archive

Meanwhile, a load of DLT followers ruminate about how the world's gone potty if you can't whistle at a pretty girl these days.

PLEASE BLOW FINAL WHISTLE

When he blew the whistle at Olympus, several of the company's senior managers led a campaign to suppress details of the fraud before dismissing him, then launched a campaign to discredit him.

Don't shoot the messenger: attitudes to whistle-blowing may be changing, but raising the alarm lover corporate still wrongdoing has its risks

They have located the physical source of the teakettle whistle at the spout as steam flows up it, and identified a two-mechanism process of whistle production.

Mystery behind 'tea kettle whistle' solved

"At times they will hover around, whistle at it, try to get it to whistle back."

Dolphins remember friends' whistles for decades - study

In this article, I will provide an overview of "The Mill Whistle Project" designed to document the mill whistle in Corner Brook, describe the historic functions of the mill whistle at the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Mill, and identify alternative uses of the whistle over time.

In the early twentieth century, there were two primary functions of a whistle at a paper mill: to mark shift changes and to signal trouble.

The decision whether to deploy the whistle at midnight is made each year by mill management.

Grant Hiscock, who was thirteen at the time, recalled hearing the whistle at the end of World War II: "It blew for a long time, I remember that" (interview: August 1, 2012).

For example, in 1927, the editor advised, "The Mill whistle at Corner Brook will he sounded to announce the hour of eleven, and at two minutes after eleven, a second whistle will announce the close of the brief interval of meditation and reverence" ("Editorial Notes" 1927: 2).

"The mill whistle was blowing and the Germans were coming": Industrial Soundscapes, World War II, and Remembrance in Corner Brook, Newfoundland

Some male cockroaches whistle at females with surprisingly complex, almost birdlike sounds that vibrate through the ground and the air, researchers find.

Hey, roach babe: male cockroaches give fancy courting whistles

It fears the gesture reinforces a building site's stereotypical image where a group of male builders will wolf whistle at the sight of women's legs.

Phweet phwooo! Watch out boys

At this year's World Cup, many football referees will choose to use an Acme Tornado 2000, the world's most powerful whistle at 125 decibels.

Historic blow for industry; Ninety years ago this week, the unsinkable Titanic plunged to the bottom of the North Atlantic, with the loss of more than 1,500 lives. With it went a clutch of whistles made by J Hudson & Co. But although the ship went down, after more than 120 years Hudson's is as buoyant as ever, as Caroline Foulkes found out

Mick Thacker polishes the whistle at the Gallery and, left, it is moved into position.

SOUNDS IMPOSSIBLE!; Plan to break decibel level on 6ft whistle

Likewise, when there has been an accident on the motorway and police are trying to avoid further accidents through motorists on the other side having a gawp, they have found it most effective to wave the motorists on and whistle at the same time.

MADE IN THE MIDLANDS: You know how to WHISTLE; Keeping up with the demand for whistles was a Titanic effort for a Birmingham company, says Jo Ind