Meanings
- idiomaticnot comparableWorthless or pointless.
We are a set of worthless fellows not worth a whistle.
1848, Blanchard Jerrold, The disgrace to the family: A story of social distinctions, page 923 more examples
“The life of a Negro in Mississippi is not worth a whistle,” one of the European newspapers reported.
2010, Yuvraj Ramsaroop, Realizing the American Dream, →ISBNThis, of course, is ridiculous, as most people can plainly see, but you'd be surprised at how often otherwise intelligent individuals fail to distinguish between what's worth fighting over and what's not worth a whistle.
2011, Jennifer Lawler, Martial Arts For Dummies, →ISBNThis greatly irritated Mr Hooke and he muttered that Mr Wylde is not worth a whistle'.
2015, Ruth Scurr, John Aubrey: My Own Life, →ISBN, page 257Synonyms: bastardly, blown, cacky, chaffy, cocking, crapalicious, cruddy, cullionly
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveWorthless or pointless.
Cite this entry
not worth a whistle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20worth%20a%20whistle
“not worth a whistle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20worth%20a%20whistle. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “not worth a whistle,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/not%20worth%20a%20whistle.
Source: not worth a whistle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.