Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

whistle past the graveyard

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.39 in modern English

Syllables
whistle -past the -grave-yard
IPA
42
Scrabble Score
23
Letters
4
Syllables
14
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To attempt to stay cheerful in a dire situation; to proceed with a task, ignoring an upcoming hazard, hoping for a good outcome.

American usage

verb

To enter a situation with little or no understanding of the possible consequences.

American usage

Usage

Inflected Forms

whistles past the graveyard (present, singular) whistling past the graveyard (participle, present) whistled past the graveyard (participle, past) whistled past the graveyard (past)

Phrases

whistle Dixie whistle down the wind whistle in the dark whistle in the wind

Frequently Paired Words

whistle Dixie whistle down the wind whistle in the dark whistle in the wind

Questions

What does whistle past the graveyard mean?
To attempt to stay cheerful in a dire situation; to proceed with a task, ignoring an upcoming hazard, hoping for a good outcome.

How to pronounce whistle past the graveyard

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “whistle past the graveyard”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “whistle past the graveyard”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “whistle past the graveyard” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.