whistle Dixie

whistle Dixie
Dixie Dix"ie (d[i^]ks"[y^]), prop. n. 1. A colloquial name for the Southern portion of the United States, esp. during the Civil War. [U.S.]

Syn: Dixieland, Dixie Land, the Confederacy, Confederate States of America, the South.

Syn: . [1913 Webster]

2. a song popular in the Confederate states during the American Civil War, and still played as a nostalgic anthem by those patriotic to the American south. It was written by Daniel D. Emmett in 1859. [PJC]

{whistle Dixie} to talk unrealistically; to engage in unrealistic or overoptimistic fantasies; as, that ain't just whistlin' Dixie. [PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • whistle Dixie N. Amer. — whistle Dixie N. Amer. informal engage in unrealistic fantasies. → Dixie …   English new terms dictionary

  • whistle Dixie — verb 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 …   Wiktionary

  • whistle Dixie — vp To be mistaken. If you think you can make a good hotrod for $2000, you re whistling Dixie. 1940s …   Historical dictionary of American slang

  • whistle Dixie — engage in unrealistic fantasies; waste one s time until you nail down the facts, you re just whistling Dixie …   Useful english dictionary

  • whistle Dixie — idi to indulge in unrealistically optimistic fantasies …   From formal English to slang

  • Dixie — Dix ie (d[i^]ks [y^]), prop. n. 1. A colloquial name for the Southern portion of the United States, esp. during the Civil War. [U.S.] Syn: Dixieland, Dixie Land, the Confederacy, Confederate States of America, the South. Syn: . [1913 Webster] 2.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • whistle — {{11}}whistle (n.) tubular musical instrument, O.E. hwistle (see WHISTLE (Cf. whistle) (v.)). To wet one s whistle take a drink (late 14c.) originally may have referred to pipes, or be an allusion to the throat as a sort of pipe. Phrase clean as… …   Etymology dictionary

  • whistle — whis•tle [[t]ˈ(h)wɪs əl, ˈwɪs [/t]] v. tled, tling, n. 1) to make a high clear musical sound or a series of such sounds by forcing the breath through puckered lips or through the teeth 2) to produce sounds resembling a whistle, as by blowing on… …   From formal English to slang

  • Dixie — /dik see/, n. 1. Also called Dixieland, Dixie Land. the southern states of the United States, esp. those that were formerly part of the Confederacy. 2. (italics) any of several songs with this name, esp. the minstrel song (1859) by D. D. Emmett,… …   Universalium

  • Dixie — noun an informal name for the Southern states of the US. Phrases whistle Dixie N. Amer. informal engage in unrealistic fantasies. Origin C19: of unknown origin …   English new terms dictionary

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