dog whistle

(redirected from dog whistles)

dog whistle

1. noun Literally, a whistle that emits sound at a frequency so high that it can be heard by dogs but not humans. The dogs all started howling at the sound of the trainer's dog whistle.
2. noun By extension, a word or phrase specifically used to convey an innocuous meaning to the general audience while conveying or suggesting a different, often controversial, message to the target audience. Especially used in politics. He's using that term as a dog whistle to signal to his base what his values really are.
3. noun The tactic of using such a term. His use of the term is clearly a dog whistle intended to rally his base.
4. adjective Describing such a term or tactic. When used as an adjective, the phrase is commonly hyphenated. Allusions to issues like race are commonly couched in dog-whistle terms to appeal to certain blocs of voters while going unnoticed by others.
See also: dog, whistle
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2015 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
See also:
References in periodicals archive ?
From the GOP's embrace of Dixiecrats who fled the Democratic Party over Lyndon Johnson's civil rights initiatives, to Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy, to Ronald Reagan's dog whistles on state's rights and anecdotes about "young bucks" and "welfare queens," to George H.W.
Trump is not an anomaly in GOP
Dog whistles only used to be audible to our canine companions.
We need to wake up and silence the dog whistle - column
It's tempting to say that Republican claims to support racial equality were always hypocritical; it's even tempting to welcome the move from dog whistles to open racism.
Racism rears its ugly head in America
The dog whistles about refugees and asylum seekers are now crowding out the sensible voices in the UK Government.
Dog whistles only bring out danger; RECORD View
"The venomous band of people who enjoy leaving comments on stories in the press knocking Megs likes to carefully skate around that final fact, but they still blow dog whistles at her.
Meghan Markle's Huge Impact On The Public Discussed
His campaign literature and tweeting repeatedly featured antisemitic dog whistles in the form of attacks on "globalists" and "sheriff's stars." He regularly retweeted neo-Nazis.
There is No Position on Israel That Absolves or Excuses Your Anti-Semitism
The shows may be seamless, but none of the performers have received intense training - although they'll answer to dog whistles.
FLEA ENTERPRISE! Old-fashioned flea circus is now a team-building exercise for firms!
In his book Time to Get Tough: Making America #1 Again, Trump, too, framed his agenda as a defense of "American exceptionalism." "Maybe my biggest beef with Obama is his view that there's nothing special or exceptional about America--that we're no different than any other country." Trump later adopted a catchier slogan, "Make America Great Again," but it retained the nativist overtones and racial dog whistles of the first.
Code switch: how the right appropriated "American exceptionalism"
But where McCutcheon and Mark (Dog Whistles Walk-backs and Washington Handshakes: Decoding the Jargon, Slang and Bluster in American Political Speech, 2014) provide the lexicon and 'decode' race-tinged political language, Lopez harshly critiques dog whistling within the specific context of the 'colourblind' or 'post-racial' America increasingly touted since Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign and election.
Higher frequency
Instead, it has tried to exploit them, mobilising their resentment via dog whistles to win elections.
Empowering The Ugliness
As well as liaising with Government ministers the job has included arranging deliveries to the island of bus stop signs, gravestones, police uniforms and even dog whistles.
HOME WORKER QUITS ISLE JOB
Texas Democrats have been vocal about Republicans sounding dog whistles to rouse their voters - as when lieutenant governor candidate state Sen.
Analysis: Is That Any Way to Attract Los Gringos?
A DOG whistles and clickers can help in situations like this, but I suggest you contact a professional dog trainer.
Trude Mostue
Then there is the company's range of dog whistles, inaudible to the human ear, but which Poppy, the Topman's poodle dog, who comes to work with them every day, is completely obedient to.
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
From the GOP's embrace of Dixiecrats who fled the Democratic Party over Lyndon Johnson's civil rights initiatives to Richard Nixon's Southern Strategy to Ronald Reagan's dog whistles on states' rights and anecdotes about "young bucks" and "welfare queens" to George H.W.
Trump is not a GOP outlier
Idioms browser ?
Full browser ?