whistle past

verb

To ignore or deny obvious facts; to continue despite problems.

“The party can't keep whistling past these bad polling numbers.”

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Meanings

verbwhistle past (third-person singular simple present whistles past, present participle whistling past, simple past and past participle whistled past)

present singular third person whistles past · participle present whistling past · participle past whistled past · past whistled past

  1. informaltransitiveTo ignore or deny obvious facts; to continue despite problems.

    The party can't keep whistling past these bad polling numbers.

Origin

From whistle past the graveyard.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

whistle past. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whistle%20past

MLA

“whistle past.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whistle%20past. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whistle past,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whistle%20past.

Source: whistle past on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.