whistle Dixie

English

Etymology

Refers to the song "Dixie", the traditional anthem of the Confederate States of America. The full implication is that the Confederacy would not succeed in the American Civil War through sentiment or token action alone.

Pronunciation

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

Verb

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

1. (idiomatic, Southern US) To engage in idle conversational fantasies.

   He said he was going to open a business next year, but I think he was just whistling Dixie.

   "Sure is hot!" / "You ain't whistlin' Dixie!

Usage notes

• Frequently used in the negative, to mean someone or something is serious, as in, When I say that, I'm not just whistling Dixie, I really mean it.

Translations

to engage in idle conversational phantasies

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 想入非非 (zh) (xiǎngrùfēifēi)

• Finnish: puhua joutavia
• Polish: fantazjować (pl) impf
• Russian: чеса́ть языко́м impf (česátʹ jazykóm), балабо́нить (ru) impf (balabónitʹ), городи́ть ерунду́ impf (gorodítʹ jerundú)

See also

• engage in idle conversation, often including fantasies
  • bullshit (verb)
  • shoot the breeze
  • shoot the shit
  • build castles in the air
• 'whistle' idioms
  • whistle down the wind
  • whistle in the dark
  • whistle in the wind
  • whistle past the graveyard