dog whistle

dog whis·tle

D d

Definitions of dog whistle words

noun dog whistle Politics. a political strategy, statement, slogan, etc., that conveys a controversial, secondary message understood only by those who support the message: His criticism of welfare was a dog whistle appealing to racist voters. 1
noun dog whistle A high-pitched whistle, inaudible to humans, used to train dogs. 0
noun dog whistle That which is understood only by a narrow demographic. 0
noun dog whistle (politics) Especially, an allusion or comment made by a politician with the intent that only a certain demographic note it and recognize its significance. 0

before 1995

One of the 1% newest English words

First recorded in 1995-2000; < dog whistle a high-frequency whistle audible to dogs but not humans

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 86% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

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