[whip up]{v.}, {informal} 1. To make or do quickly or easily. •/Mary whipped up a lunch for the picnic./ •/The reporter whipped up a story about the fire for his paper./ 2. To make active; stir to action; excite. •/The girls are trying to whip up interest for a dance Saturday night./ Compare: STIR UP, WHOOP IT UP(2).
[whispering campaign]{n.} The spreading of false rumors, or saying bad things, about a person or group, especially in politics or public life. •/A bad man has started a whispering campaign against the mayor, saying that he isn’t honest./
[whistle] See: BLOW THE WHISTLE ON, WET ONE’S WHISTLE.
[whistle a different tune] See: SING A DIFFERENT TUNE.
[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 a dark, scary place to keep up their courage.)
[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] See: BLACK AND WHITE, IN BLACK AND WHITE.
[white around the gills] See: GREEN AROUND THE GILLS.
[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./ Contrast BLUE-COLLAR WORKERS.
[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./
[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./
[whitewash something]{v.}, {informal} To explain a major, national scandal in soothing official terms so as to assure the public that things are under control and there is no need to panic. •/Many people in the United States believe that President Kennedy’s assassination was whitewashed by the Warren Commission./ See: WHITEWASH.
[whiz] See: GEE WHIZ.
[who] See: SAYS WHO.
[whodunit]{n.} A detective story; a murder story; a thriller. •/Agatha Christie was a true master of the whodunit./
[who is who] See: WHO’S WHO.
[who laughs last laughs best] See: HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST.
[whole] See: ALL THE WAY or THE WHOLE WAY, GO THE WHOLE HOG, ON THE WHOLE, WITH A WHOLE SKIN or IN A WHOLE SKIN.
[whole cheese]{slang} or {informal} [whole show] {n.}, {informal} The only important person; big boss. •/Joe thought he was the whole cheese in the game because he owned the ball./ •/You’re not the whole show just because you got all A’s./ Compare: BIG CHEESE.
[whole hog] See: GO THE WHOLE HOG.
[whole lot] See: A LOT.
[whole show] See: WHOLE CHEESE.
[whoop it up]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To make a loud noise; have a noisy celebration; enjoy yourself noisily. •/The team whooped it up after winning the game./ 2. To praise something enthusiastically; encourage enthusiasm or support. — Often used with "for". •/Father wanted to go to the country, but the children whooped it up for the beach./
[who’s who] or [who is who] {informal} 1. Who this one is and who that one is; who the different ones in a group of people are or what their names or positions are. •/It is hard to tell who is who in the parade because everyone in the band looks alike./ •/It took the new teacher a few days to remember who was who in the class./ Compare: WHICH IS WHICH. 2. Who the important people are. •/John didn’t recognize the champion on television. He doesn’t know who is who in boxing./ •/After about a year, Mr. Thompson had lived in this town long enough to know who was who./ Compare: WHAT’S WHAT.
[why and wherefore]{n.} The answer to a question or problem. Usually used in the plural. •/Father told him not to always ask the whys and wherefores when he was told to do something./
[wide] See: FAR AND WIDE, GIVE A WIDE BERTH.
[wide-eyed] See: ROUND-EYED.
[wide of the mark]{adv.} or {adj. phr.} 1. Far from the target or the thing aimed at. •/James threw a stone at the cat but it went wide of the mark./ 2. Far from the truth; incorrect. •/You were wide of the mark when you said I did it, because Bill did it./ Contrast: HIT THE BULL’S-EYE, HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD.
[widow] See: GOLF WIDOW.
[wiener roast] or [hot dog roast] {n.} A party where frankfurters are cooked and eaten over an outdoor fire. •/For his birthday party, John had a wiener roast in his backyard./ •/Mary’s Girl Scout troop had a hot dog roast on their overnight hike./
[wig] See: BIG CHEESE or BIG WIG.
[wild] See: RUN WILD, SOW ONE’S WILD OATS.
[wildcat strike]{n.}, {informal} A strike not ordered by a labor union; a strike spontaneously arranged by a group of workers. •/The garbage collectors have gone on a wildcat strike, but the union is going to stop it./
[wild goose chase]{n. phr.} An absurd and completely futile errand. •/I was on a wild goose chase when I was sent to find a man who never really existed./