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<font size=3>Jon, are you saying that the 1916 quotation does NOT allude
to a policeman's whistle? I could take it as an analogy with a
policeman blowing a whistle to stop someone from getting away. And
the Daughter and Son in the quotation were in a sense getting away -- one
to Europe and the other to Yale.<br><br>
Joel<br><br>
At 3/24/2013 11:00 AM, Jonathan Lighter wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">"Whistle-blower" comes
decades later than "blow the whistle on" (go figure)<br>
which, as far as anyone has ever known, alludes to a policeman's
whistle.<br><br>
This early ex., however, suggests otherwise. The (earlier) meaning here
is<br>
clearly to "oppose successfully; thwart decisively" rather than
to "expose":<br><br>
1916 George Ade in _Cosmopolitan_ (June) 42: Claude...had to blow
the<br>
Whistle on Friend Wife, who was getting ready to send Daughter to
Europe<br>
and put Son in Yale. </font></blockquote></body>
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