clean as a whistle

Idioms  

1. 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]

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

clean as a whistle

After escaping a pair of masked assailants, he brings the police around; the sauna, you will have guessed, is clean as a whistle.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 28, 2024

So short of actually poking your head into the kitchen, how can you tell if a restaurant is clean as a whistle - or no such thing?

From BBC ● Apr. 24, 2016

Philistines shirk the burden of bristle By shaving their faces as clean as a whistle.

From Slate ● Dec. 3, 2014

"It was clean as a whistle," he said in a Guardian interview, noting that the leaders in the early days lived and ate frugally.

From New York Times ● Jul. 10, 2012

Now flashed arrow from twanging bow clean as a whistle through every socket ring, and grazed not one, to thud with heavy brazen head beyond.

From "The Odyssey" by Homer

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---