And could you give a few examples? or the orgin of this phrase? Many thanks!
2007-05-19 14:00:14 · 7 answers · asked by lotusgrass 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Languages
Very-smooth and neat; also, smoothly, quickly, easily. For example, That salesman is as slick as a whistle, or The fence post went in place slick as a whistle. The allusion in this simile, first recorded in 1830, is not totally clear, but presumably it refers either to the ease of producing a whistle or to its clear tone.
2007-05-19 14:03:27 · answer #1 · answered by Shipp 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Slick as a whistle is a term that was usually applied to easy motion. Like, "did the top of that come off okay?" "Slick as a whistle!"
2007-05-19 14:09:04 · answer #2 · answered by Terri J 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It usually refers to "easily".
EX: The plumber removed the rusted pipe "slick as a whistle".
Now "clean as a whistle" is a bit different.
EX: After I used Drano on my pipes, they were "clean as a whistle".
2007-05-19 14:07:12 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I never heard of it meaning "healthy," it usually means "easily" but I don't know what the origin of that phrase is.
Lawrence is probably right but in different places the phrase might mean different things.
2007-05-19 14:44:08 · answer #4 · answered by supertop 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it's "fit" as a whistle, and it means healthy. I don't know where the phrase originates from.
2007-05-19 14:03:36 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Neither. It is more, "Done neatly or cleanly." Or, in the case of a person, they are slick and slide right in or out of a situation. Healthy would be "fit as a fiddle."
2007-05-19 14:25:00 · answer #6 · answered by †Lawrence R† 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
it went in slick as a whistle, it fit easily
2007-05-19 14:04:01 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋