"Whistling in the dark". What does this phrase mean to you?

Answer 1

"Whistling in the dark" refers to comforting yourself in a frightening situation by distracting yourself with some extraneous activity. It doesn't actually reduce the danger, but it provides some solace to pass the time until the dawn ...

... or until the dreaded outcome actually does occur.

(I've been watching "The Mummy" tonight.)

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EDIT: I cannot believe that people are accusing NON-believers of whistling in the dark. By my calculation, we're the ones who say, "when you're dead, you're dead." We accept that the end is all there is and that we all will face the same non-existent fate. The BELIEVERS, on the other hand, parade some fantasy of an afterlife that allows them to pretend that life is endless. That mythology is the epitome of "whistling in the dark."

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Answer 2

Whistling In The Dark

Answer 3

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/whistle
whistle in the dark: To attempt to keep one's courage up.

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/whistle
be whistling in the dark: to be confident that something good will happen when it is not at all likely. "She seems pretty sure she'll win the title, but she may just be whistling in the dark."

http://www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/5/messages/1493.html
WHISTLE IN THE DARK - "Be cheerful or optimistic in a situation that doesn't warrant cheer or optimism. It is a great temptation to try to cheer oneself up by whistling or singing in a dark and lonely place. Sigmund Freud, in 'The Problem of Anxiety' (1925), had a thought on the practice: 'When the wayfarer whistles in the dark, he may be disavowing his timidity, but he does not see any the more clearer for doing so.' The notion that one should whistle in difficult circumstances to show that one is not concerned or frightened can be found in Robert Blair's 'The Grave; (1742): 'The Schoolboy.Whistling aloud to bear his Courage up.'" "The Dictionary of Cliches" by James Rogers (Ballantine Books, New York, 1985).

Answer 4

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RE:
"Whistling in the dark". What does this phrase mean to you?

Answer 5

Whistling in the dark means your trying to find an answer for something you know nothing about

Answer 6

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Probably refering to thier wet pants. But it's actually meant ' to have a drink.'

Answer 7

A man came up to me and said, "I'd like to poison your mind, with wrong ideas that appeal to you, though I am not unkind."

Answer 8

More like singing for me. Is it foolish, that I take courage from my own bravado? It is the same way with smiling, for me. The intentional act of trying to be happy will often make me happy. I am just simple that way.

Answer 9

It's something I can honestly say I've never done but I may give it a go tonight & see what happens.

Answer 10

A good song by They Might Be Giants.