W
Idioms beginning with "W"
Part of speech, explanation, example sentences, pronunciation
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Contents of W:
[whistle for] {v.}, {informal}
To try to get (something) but fail; look for (something) that will not come.
Mary didn't even thank us for helping her, so the next time she needs help she can whistle for it.
[whistle in the dark] {v. phr.}, {informal}
To try to stay brave and forget your fear.
Tom said he could fight the bully with one hand, but we knew that he was just whistling in the dark.
(From the fact that people sometimes whistle when walking in […]
[whistle-stop] {n.}
A small town where the trains only stop on a special signal.
President Truman made excellent use of the whistle-stop during his 1948 campaign for the presidency.
[white elephant] {n. phr.}
Unwanted property, such as real estate, that is hard to sell.
That big house of theirs on the corner sure is a white elephant.
[white lie] {n. phr.}
An innocent social excuse.
I am too busy to go to their house for dinner tonight. I will call them and tell a little white lie about having the flu.
[white sale] {n.}
The selling, especially at lower prices, of goods or clothing usually made of white cloth.
Mother always buys many things at the January white sale to save money.
[white-collar workers] {n. phr.}
Workers employed in offices and at desks as opposed to those who work as manual workers; the middle class.
It is a well-known fact that white-collar workers are less well organized than unionized manual workers.
[…]
[whitewash] {n.}, {informal}
A soothing official report that attempts to tranquilize the public.
Some people believe that the Warren Commission's report on the Kennedy assassination was a whitewash.