Robert “Rabbie” Burns (in his Author’s Earnest Cry, 1786) provides us the first use of anything resembling the phrase clean as a whistle in writing: “Her mutchkin stowp as toom’s a whissle”… this meant “Her pint bucket is as empty as a whistle”. …we conjecture that Rabbie was familiar with this instrument, the implication being that if a whistle is not clear of obstruction inside, then it will not play properly.
Kinda like “Clear as a bell”.
They are referring to the sound as clean and clear…
@daveinwarsh but then why do people say ‘clean as a whistle’ in the context of dirty vs clean?
@RiotDemon so then shouldn’t the phrase be ‘clear as a whistle’?
@carl669 @RiotDemon no you need to whistle when you are clear…
@Kidsandliz @RiotDemon can’t I just fire a flare gun when I’m clear like a normal person?
I always just assumed it came from steam powered locomotives.
But now that you made me look it up, there are a variety of origins possible…
https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/34422/clean-as-a-whistle-why-is-a-whistle-considered-appropriate-for-describing-cl
@llangley
If your whistle is all gunked-up, it ain’t gonna work very well.
If the glove does not fit, you must acquit.
@carl669
Of course spit is clean… tell me you haven’t ever used it to clean off something from your kid’s face!
Ever try to whistle with food in your mouth? Clean, as in empty, makes sense.