whistle for

Also found in: Idioms.

whistle for

(intr, preposition) informal to seek or expect in vain

References in periodicals archive ?

Manik spoke during her group's launching of its Whistle for Protection campaign to prevent abuse and violence against children with disabilities (CWDs) last week.

Campaign to use whistles to save lives launched

Despite having been made for centuries, you're unlikely to come across a whistle for sale pre-dating the late 18th century, and most will date from no earlier than the second half of the 19th century.

Collectables to trill

During one of our daily marathon telephone conversations, she mentioned that she had not heard the whistle for a few days.

"The mill whistle was blowing and the Germans were coming": Industrial Soundscapes, World War II, and Remembrance in Corner Brook, Newfoundland

Exhibited at the Museo Regionale della Ceramica in Caltagirone, Sicily, is a prehistoric object that has long been described as a "clepsydra-shaped clay vase with a mouthpiece" until its nature was finally understood after restoration: it actually is a water whistle for simulating bird calls, realized centuries before the ancient Greek brought the Mesopotamian heritage to Europe.

Sounds of clay: Onofrio Chieco's whistles: Melanie Zefferino reports on the history and significance of clay whistles

99, so it is completely different for us to sell a whistle for pounds 2000.

Whistle do nicely

To be fair to football arbiters, kettles, and those blokes who stand on train platforms telling the driver it is safe to leave, they whistle for very good reasons.