Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

whistle in the wind

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.83 in modern English

Syllables: whistle in the wind
IPA

29

Scrabble Score

16

Letters

1

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To attempt something that is futile; to say something that is not heeded.

British usage

Example Sentences

"[T]hey are expending more and more effort on trying to get right something that cannot, and should not, be done in the first place. […] Endless exhortations to "do it better" are, to put it politely, whistling in the wind."
"It doesn’t matter how strong your USP is or how powerful your value proposition, if the message isn’t reaching the right people you're whistling in the wind."
"[E]veryone is doing no more than whistling powerlessly in the wind."

Usage

British usage

Inflected Forms

whistles in the wind (present, singular) whistling in the wind (participle, present) whistled in the wind (participle, past) whistled in the wind (past)

Phrases

whistle Dixie whistle down the wind whistle in the dark whistle past the graveyard

Frequently Paired Words

whistle Dixie whistle down the wind whistle in the dark whistle past the graveyard

Synonyms

piss in the wind piss up a rope

Questions

What does whistle in the wind mean?: To attempt something that is futile; to say something that is not heeded.

How to pronounce whistle in the wind

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