I. verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a bullet whistles (= moves fast making a noise )
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I heard a bullet whistle past me.
a gurgling/whistling/cracking etc noise (= a noise with a particular kind of sound )
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The water moved through the pipes with a loud gurgling noise.
clean as a whistle (= very clean )
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The place was clean as a whistle.
final whistle (= blown at the end of a game )
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The final whistle was only seconds away when Redknapp equalised.
hum/whistle a tune
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She was humming a little tune to herself.
penny whistle
tin whistle
wolf whistle
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
softly
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He shrugged his shoulders and whistled softly to himself.
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Juron whistled softly at the sight.
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I whistle softly , then throw it across the carpets towards the windows.
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Cranston knelt down next to them and whistled softly through his teeth.
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A man's outline appeared hesitantly out of the mist, and then the first of their pursuers turned and whistled softly .
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He used a wooden spoon to stir the mixture, whistling softly .
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He was glad she was happy and whistled softly to himself as he tied his tie.
■ NOUN
tooth
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Cranston knelt down next to them and whistled softly through his teeth .
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Piercing, piercing whistling rasping through teeth , could easily be heard over engine.
tune
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But equally often he'd collapse in the middle of a sentence or whistling a tune .
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Thought I was going to die, and then twenty-four hours later I was whistling show tunes .
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The stranger was swinging his umbrella and whistling that infuriating tune .
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I listened hard and there was only the sound of the pool man whistling a tune to himself.
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In fact, Henry can whistle one tune which makes them all want to follow him.
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A deckhand on the ferry from Brooklyn whistled the tune , and the words floated up from nowhere.
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From that moment Tess found she could whistle tunes to the birds just as Mrs d'Urberville wanted.
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He whistled a tune as he strolled down the corridor.
wind
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The wind is whistling up this and within seconds my face is frozen.
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The wind whistled up round the corner past the supermarket to Stormy Hill.
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Outside, the wind whistled thinly along the fluted tiles and stirred the open window sash.
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The wind seems to whistle through the doors and windows.
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And that wind nuzzling and whistling at the double-glazed window.
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He pulled his cap down over his eyes but the wind whistled bitterly through his ears.
■ VERB
begin
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The kettle began to whistle , breaking into her train of thought.
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Downstairs the kettle began to whistle .
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But now as he rode he began to whistle beneath his breath, perhaps unconsciously.
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He even began to whistle a tune under his breath.
hear
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We could hear it whistling down the chimney, and howling all around the house.
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I could feel the air and I could hear their whistling noise; yet none of these bullets touched me.
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Presently, he heard the breath whistle in her throat, a gasp, a tiny groan.
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I could hear him whistling a long way behind.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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A bullet whistled past his left cheek.
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Fans yelled and whistled when the band came on stage.
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He stacked crates one on top of the other, whistling as he did so.
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The kettle was whistling on the stove.
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You've been whistling that tune all day.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Lucie whistled sharply to catch her attention, then beckoned her over to stand beside him.
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She turned, and another something whistled past her ear.
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So I went to school and sat in class and memorized more than understood and whistled past the academic graveyard.
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The audience hooted, whistled, and laughed.
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The ideas, the whistling words, they throbbed in all the senses.
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When I got home he was already in his room, whistling away cheerfully.
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You belong on your own block, where I can whistle for you.
II. noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADJECTIVE
clean
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A steep, wall as clean as a whistle , without a scrap of vegetation.
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The place was clean as a whistle .
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Let's say Rivera's as clean as a whistle , but who checks out Vargas?
final
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By the final whistle he'd done the sensible thing and switched to Gazza.
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Only minutes before the final whistle , Halliday weaved his way infield, causing the disruption from which Morris was to score.
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United, leading 3-0 at the time, conceded two goals at the final whistle .
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Howey led the City celebrations after the final whistle of a game which may mean so much to them.
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The Final , played on Sunday, proved to be a cliff-hanger right up to the final whistle .
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At the final whistle , Souness and Dalglish politely embraced.
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Just before the final whistle , former Leeds player Gary Divorty grabbed a consolation try, converted by stand-off Bishop.
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No sooner had Derek Bevan blown the final whistle at Twickenham, than faint noises could be heard from over the horizon.
low
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She was still pondering on this mystery when a low whistle came from the other side of the ditch.
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I start with a low whistle , twist it, pitch it higher and thinner till the kestrel treads air.
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From the stalls nearby came applause and low whistles of appreciation.
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Like his uniformed colleague, Schiller gave a low whistle when he saw the contents of the master bedroom.
shrill
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A shrill whistle is blown angrily by a shivering soldier, a sentry at the tomb.
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Flora gave a shrill whistle and started trotting down the cliff.
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A shrill whistle could be discerned, audible above the scrape and screech of the music.
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Call a series of fluty piping notes, also a shrill whistle .
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The policeman was blowing a shrill whistle .
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Then he put his fingers in his mouth and let out a shrill whistle .
■ NOUN
tin
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The older man plays an accordion, and the younger one plays a tin whistle in the musical interlude.
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She might as well have had a tin whistle buried in that neck of hers.
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I walked up to one young guy in full get-up playing the tin whistle near the Harness and Saddle maker store.
train
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He heard the train whistle , the engine was slowing for a signal then he heard it pick up speed again.
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Suddenly, all over Illinois, train whistles began blowing in the middle of the night.
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The train whistle blew at the same moment and her scream was drowned in it.
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I heard the sound of the train whistle as the train pulled into Montpelier Junction.
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A train whistle or siren has a higher pitch as the train approaches than when it recedes.
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The train whistle was deep and spoke with an ominous voice.
wolf
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When the wolf whistles came though, I decided I wasn't after all.
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She jumped visibly at his wolf whistle .
■ VERB
give
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The boy gave a high whistle and was joined by another.
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Flora gave a shrill whistle and started trotting down the cliff.
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Like his uniformed colleague, Schiller gave a low whistle when he saw the contents of the master bedroom.
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You wait until they're looking your way and then give a whistle or call.
hear
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He heard the train whistle , the engine was slowing for a signal then he heard it pick up speed again.
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Three times a day we hear steam whistles , and here and there are columns of smoke rising.
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Suddenly I heard a piercing whistle that seemed to resound through the whole universe.
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I heard some one whistle through two fingers and looked up front toward the flight leader.
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The decision may have been harsh, however, because it appeared he had not heard the whistle .
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Analysis Answer the following questions together: Can you hear the whistle / whisper distinctly through the cube?
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Somewhere in the distance he could hear the infuriating whistle .
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I heard the whistle of the bullet by my head, because it was quite close.
sound
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The driver braked hard and sounded the whistle , but the man ignored the warning and disappeared under the train.
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During the night a train has failed to sound its whistle .
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There has been a breach of duty by an engine driver in failing to sound his whistle .
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
blow the whistle on sb
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A few honest policemen were willing to blow the whistle on the captain.
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Anyone who tried to blow the whistle on the violence was intimidated or threatened.
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He claims the two are separate enough that he was in the clear to blow the whistle on the Rialto Theater project.
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Not withstanding that risk, under the Constitution, the judiciary is in the best position to blow the whistle on runaway majorities.
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So, why not blow the whistle on a thoroughly corrupt system sooner?
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Staff members have little interest in blowing the whistle on this situation.
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The report will question why medical staff working with him did not blow the whistle on his activities.
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There were even rebelliously honest policemen, who might blow the whistle on the dishonest ones.
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With great courage, Vasseur has blown the whistle on an unacceptable situation.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
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Ashley heard the whistle of the ax as it swung by.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
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Carry a whistle and a spare length of rope which can be used for towing others or making repairs.
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From the direction of the North River came the long piercing stab of a steam whistle .
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Just before the whistle blew Vernon thought she had seen him; at any rate she was looking in his direction.
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No bells, no whistles, no dancing bears.
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Suddenly, all over Illinois, train whistles began blowing in the middle of the night.
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The boy gave a high whistle and was joined by another.
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There was the whistle of a bomb which got nearer and nearer.