clean as a whistle
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Completely, entirely, thoroughly, as in He chopped off the branch, clean as a whistle. The allusion in this simile is unclear. It may have been a replacement for the 18th-century clear as a whistle, which alluded to the pure, clean sound of a whistle (it has few overtones). However, it was adopted to describe something thoroughly done. [Early 1800s]
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Words nearby clean as a whistle
-cle, Clea, clean, cleanability, clean and jerk, clean as a whistle, clean bill of health, clean breast, clean-cut, clean eating, clean energy
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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