"whistle in the dark" meaning in English

See whistle in the dark in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Verb

Audio: En-au-whistle in the dark.ogg Forms: whistles in the dark [present, singular, third-person], whistling in the dark [participle, present], whistled in the dark [participle, past], whistled in the dark [past]
Head templates: {{en-verb|*}} whistle in the dark (third-person singular simple present whistles in the dark, present participle whistling in the dark, simple past and past participle whistled in the dark)
  1. (colloquial) To make a show of bravery despite one's fears; to put on a brave face. Tags: colloquial Synonyms (make a show of bravery): whistle past the graveyard Translations (make a show of bravery): 壮胆 (zhuàngdǎn) (Chinese Mandarin), vislailla (Finnish), pfeifen im Walde (German), бодри́ться (bodrítʹsja) (Russian), напускать на себя́ споко́йствие (napuskatʹ na sebjá spokójstvije) (Russian), poner buena cara (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-whistle_in_the_dark-en-verb-bCaLa8Tq Disambiguation of 'make a show of bravery': 99 1 Disambiguation of 'make a show of bravery': 99 1
  2. (idiomatic, US) To speak of something despite having little knowledge of it. Tags: US, idiomatic Synonyms (speak of something without knowledge): talk through one's hat, talk out one's ass Related terms: whistle down the wind, whistle in the wind, whistle past the graveyard, whistle Dixie Translations (speak without knowledge): 乱猜 (Chinese Mandarin), puhua läpiä päähänsä (Finnish), wie der Blinde von der Farbe reden (German), говори́ть не зна́я ничего́ то́лком (govorítʹ ne znája ničevó tólkom) (Russian), mojonear (Spanish)
    Sense id: en-whistle_in_the_dark-en-verb-U0GSrYIP Categories (other): American English, English entries with incorrect language header, English predicates, Entries with translation boxes, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Terms with Finnish translations, Terms with German translations, Terms with Mandarin translations, Terms with Russian translations, Terms with Spanish translations Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 8 92 Disambiguation of English predicates: 29 71 Disambiguation of Entries with translation boxes: 8 92 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 9 91 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 6 94 Disambiguation of Terms with Finnish translations: 10 90 Disambiguation of Terms with German translations: 10 90 Disambiguation of Terms with Mandarin translations: 9 91 Disambiguation of Terms with Russian translations: 10 90 Disambiguation of Terms with Spanish translations: 11 89 Disambiguation of 'speak of something without knowledge': 4 96 Disambiguation of 'speak without knowledge': 4 96

Inflected forms

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "whistles in the dark",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "whistling in the dark",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "whistled in the dark",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "whistled in the dark",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "whistle in the dark (third-person singular simple present whistles in the dark, present participle whistling in the dark, simple past and past participle whistled in the dark)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2011, Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms, Penguin, published 2012, page 6:",
          "text": "Those who seriously believe ‘There'll always be an England’ are whistling in the dark.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make a show of bravery despite one's fears; to put on a brave face."
      ],
      "id": "en-whistle_in_the_dark-en-verb-bCaLa8Tq",
      "links": [
        [
          "bravery",
          "bravery"
        ],
        [
          "put on a brave face",
          "put on a brave face"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(colloquial) To make a show of bravery despite one's fears; to put on a brave face."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "sense": "make a show of bravery",
          "word": "whistle past the graveyard"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "zhuàngdǎn",
          "sense": "make a show of bravery",
          "word": "壮胆"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "make a show of bravery",
          "word": "vislailla"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "make a show of bravery",
          "word": "pfeifen im Walde"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "bodrítʹsja",
          "sense": "make a show of bravery",
          "word": "бодри́ться"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "napuskatʹ na sebjá spokójstvije",
          "sense": "make a show of bravery",
          "word": "напускать на себя́ споко́йствие"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "99 1",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "make a show of bravery",
          "word": "poner buena cara"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 92",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "29 71",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English predicates",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "8 92",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Entries with translation boxes",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 91",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with 1 entry",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "6 94",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Pages with entries",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 90",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 90",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with German translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "9 91",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "10 90",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "11 89",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Spanish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To speak of something despite having little knowledge of it."
      ],
      "id": "en-whistle_in_the_dark-en-verb-U0GSrYIP",
      "links": [
        [
          "knowledge",
          "knowledge"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, US) To speak of something despite having little knowledge of it."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "_dis1": "44 56",
          "word": "whistle down the wind"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "44 56",
          "word": "whistle in the wind"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "44 56",
          "word": "whistle past the graveyard"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "44 56",
          "word": "whistle Dixie"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "sense": "speak of something without knowledge",
          "word": "talk through one's hat"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "sense": "speak of something without knowledge",
          "word": "talk out one's ass"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "sense": "speak without knowledge",
          "word": "乱猜"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "speak without knowledge",
          "word": "puhua läpiä päähänsä"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "de",
          "lang": "German",
          "sense": "speak without knowledge",
          "word": "wie der Blinde von der Farbe reden"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "roman": "govorítʹ ne znája ničevó tólkom",
          "sense": "speak without knowledge",
          "word": "говори́ть не зна́я ничего́ то́лком"
        },
        {
          "_dis1": "4 96",
          "code": "es",
          "lang": "Spanish",
          "sense": "speak without knowledge",
          "word": "mojonear"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-whistle in the dark.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1a/En-au-whistle_in_the_dark.ogg/En-au-whistle_in_the_dark.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/En-au-whistle_in_the_dark.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "word": "whistle in the dark"
}

{
  "categories": [
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English multiword terms",
    "English predicates",
    "English verbs",
    "Entries with translation boxes",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "Terms with Finnish translations",
    "Terms with German translations",
    "Terms with Mandarin translations",
    "Terms with Russian translations",
    "Terms with Spanish translations"
  ],
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "whistles in the dark",
      "tags": [
        "present",
        "singular",
        "third-person"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "whistling in the dark",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "present"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "whistled in the dark",
      "tags": [
        "participle",
        "past"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "whistled in the dark",
      "tags": [
        "past"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "*"
      },
      "expansion": "whistle in the dark (third-person singular simple present whistles in the dark, present participle whistling in the dark, simple past and past participle whistled in the dark)",
      "name": "en-verb"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "verb",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "whistle down the wind"
    },
    {
      "word": "whistle in the wind"
    },
    {
      "word": "whistle past the graveyard"
    },
    {
      "word": "whistle Dixie"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English colloquialisms",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2011, Norman Davies, Vanished Kingdoms, Penguin, published 2012, page 6:",
          "text": "Those who seriously believe ‘There'll always be an England’ are whistling in the dark.",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To make a show of bravery despite one's fears; to put on a brave face."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "bravery",
          "bravery"
        ],
        [
          "put on a brave face",
          "put on a brave face"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(colloquial) To make a show of bravery despite one's fears; to put on a brave face."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "colloquial"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "American English",
        "English idioms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "To speak of something despite having little knowledge of it."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "knowledge",
          "knowledge"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic, US) To speak of something despite having little knowledge of it."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US",
        "idiomatic"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-whistle in the dark.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/1/1a/En-au-whistle_in_the_dark.ogg/En-au-whistle_in_the_dark.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/En-au-whistle_in_the_dark.ogg"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "sense": "make a show of bravery",
      "word": "whistle past the graveyard"
    },
    {
      "sense": "speak of something without knowledge",
      "word": "talk through one's hat"
    },
    {
      "sense": "speak of something without knowledge",
      "word": "talk out one's ass"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "zhuàngdǎn",
      "sense": "make a show of bravery",
      "word": "壮胆"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "make a show of bravery",
      "word": "vislailla"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "make a show of bravery",
      "word": "pfeifen im Walde"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "bodrítʹsja",
      "sense": "make a show of bravery",
      "word": "бодри́ться"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "napuskatʹ na sebjá spokójstvije",
      "sense": "make a show of bravery",
      "word": "напускать на себя́ споко́йствие"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "make a show of bravery",
      "word": "poner buena cara"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "sense": "speak without knowledge",
      "word": "乱猜"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "speak without knowledge",
      "word": "puhua läpiä päähänsä"
    },
    {
      "code": "de",
      "lang": "German",
      "sense": "speak without knowledge",
      "word": "wie der Blinde von der Farbe reden"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "roman": "govorítʹ ne znája ničevó tólkom",
      "sense": "speak without knowledge",
      "word": "говори́ть не зна́я ничего́ то́лком"
    },
    {
      "code": "es",
      "lang": "Spanish",
      "sense": "speak without knowledge",
      "word": "mojonear"
    }
  ],
  "word": "whistle in the dark"
}

Download raw JSONL data for whistle in the dark meaning in English (3.9kB)

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-20 using wiktextract (c15a5ce and 5c11237). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.