whistler n.1
1. a broken-down horse, whose breath whistles in his lungs.
![[UK]](/static/img/flags/uk.png "United Kingdom") | Nimrod’s Hunting Tour (1874) 149: This mare was sound when I turned her out, but she came up a whistler. | |
| ‘Epistle from Joe Muggins’s Dog’ in Era (London) 2 June 6/3: Mildew [is] a andsome oss, and agood ’un too, or I never seed one, if he arn’t a bit of a wistler, witch I suspekts. If so his good looks arn’t of no use. | |
| Sl. and Its Analogues. |
2. (UK Und.) a counterfeit halfpenny or farthing [the false ring when tapped].
![[Aus]](/static/img/flags/aus.png "Australia") | Vocab. of the Flash Lang. |
3. the proprietor of an unlicensed spirit-shop in a prison [his drinks are kept hidden so that when the police raid they can whistle for them].
| Tom and Jerry III v: The haberdasher is the whistler, otherwise the spirit-merchant, Jerry. | |
| Pickwick Papers (1999) 609: The turnkey knows beforehand, and gives word to the whistlers, and you may whistle for it when you go look. | |
| Rogue’s Progress (1966) 118: All spirits being contraband in prison, the profession of the ‘whistler’ (for such is the vendor of ‘ardents’ denominated) was once very profitable. |
4. a bullet [abbr. blue whistler under blue adj.1 ].
![[US]](/static/img/flags/us.png "United States") | Spirit of the Times (N.Y.) 17 Oct. 98/2: Walking back to my stand, I sounded the ‘buck-load’ of sixteen whistlers in my right-hand barrel [DA]. |
5. a revolver.
| Le Slang. |
6. anything especially large.
| Le Slang. |
7. (US Und.) a police car.
| ‘Prison Parlance’ in AS IX:1 28: whistler. A police car. | |
| Criminal Sl. (rev. edn). | |
| et al. DAUL 236/2: Whistler. (South) A police car. (More common in large cities: prowl car.). |
8. a female railway porter.
| Weekly Tel. 28 Feb. n.p.: The war has brought into being many nicknames [...] women railway porters are known as ‘whistlers’ [etc.]. |
9. (US Und.) an informer.
| N.Y. Times 15 Dec. SM16: Singer: an informer [...] also whistler. |