v. & n.
--v.
1. intr. breathe with an audible chesty whistling sound.
2 tr. (often foll. by out) utter in this way.
--n.
1. a sound of wheezing.
2 colloq. a Brit. a clever scheme. b an actor's interpolated joke etc. c a catch-phrase.
Derivatives:
wheezer n. wheezingly adv. wheezy adj. (wheezier, wheeziest). wheezily adv. wheeziness n.
Etymology: prob. f. ON hv{aelig}sa to hiss