Word of the Week - 22

WHISTLE

This week's word is both a noun and a verb and it came to mind because of the Euro Cup Football Tournament which has just kicked off.

As a verb it describes the action of forcing air to pass through your lips resulting in a high-pitched sound. You can whistle to catch somebody's attention, as is common of some workmen who have a tendency to wolf-whistle at pretty women as they walk by the worksite. You can also whistle a tune or melody.

As a noun it is the name of the small metal instrument that is used by people such as referees to begin, interrupt and end a game of football or other types of contest.

The referee blew the whistle when he saw Reyes hand the ball.

The seven dwarves whistle while they work.

There are two nice idioms including the word 'whistle'. The first is 'to blow the whistle on somebody' which is what you do if you report someone for doing something wrong (similar to the meaning of the referee sentence above). The second is 'to wet your whistle' which is an old-fashioned way of saying 'have an alcoholic drink'.