whistle Dixie

English edit

Etymology edit

Refers to the song "Dixie", the traditional anthem of the Confederate States of America. The full implication is that the Confederacy would not succeed in the American Civil War through sentiment or token action alone.

Pronunciation edit

Audio (AU) (file)

Verb edit

whistle Dixie (third-person singular simple present whistles Dixie, present participle whistling Dixie, simple past and past participle whistled Dixie)

(idiomatic, Southern US) 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.

"Sure is hot!" / "You ain't whistlin' Dixie!

Usage notes edit

Frequently used in the negative, to mean someone or something is serious, as in, When I say that, I'm not just whistling Dixie, I really mean it.

Translations edit

to engage in idle conversational phantasies

Chinese:
Mandarin: 想入非非 (zh) (xiǎngrùfēifēi)
Finnish: puhua joutavia
Polish: fantazjować (pl) impf
Russian: чеса́ть языко́м impf (česátʹ jazykóm), балабо́нить (ru) impf (balabónitʹ), городи́ть ерунду́ impf (gorodítʹ jerundú)