Used to describe an action that began in the past, has continued continuously, and is still in progress.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Investors have been whistling by the inflation graveyard and ignoring signals from the Treasury curve, as we’ve broken above 4.5% and on a trajectory to go even higher,” he added.
From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026
“It could have been whistling when the police are coming or riding a bicycle in a particular area,” said McDowell, who helped Pasadena get an injunction against a gang in the late 90s.
From The Guardian ● Nov. 26, 2019
But Barack Obama might just as well have been whistling in the Kansas wind.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2012
Meanwhile steel-pipe makers have been whistling through their fingers.
From Time Magazine Archive
“But for that fortunate wreck and our saving the people in her, you and I might still have been whistling in the ranks of the Great Unemployed—And what sort of a situation is it, Charlie?”
From Charlie to the Rescue by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne
