WHISTLE FOR THE WIND, TO. A superstitious practice among old seamen, who
are equally scrupulous to avoid whistling during a heavy gale.--_To wet
one's whistle._ To take a drink. Thus Chaucer tells us that the miller
of Trumpington's lady had
"Hir joly whistle wel ywette."
WHISTLING PSALMS TO THE TAFFRAIL. Expending advice to no purpose.
WHITE BAIT OR BITE. The _Clupea alba_, a well-known fish caught in the
Thames, but strictly a sea-fish, erroneously held to be mere fry till
1828, when Yarrell raised it to the rank of a perfect fish.
WHITE BOOT-TOP. A painted white line carried fore and aft on the
hammock-netting base. It gives a longer appearance to a ship.
WHITE CAPS. Waves with breaking crests, specially between the east end
of Jamaica and Kingston; but obtaining generally when the sea-breeze,
coming fresh over the waves, and travelling faster, turns their tops:
termed also _white-horses_.
WHITE FEATHER. The figurative symbol of cowardice: a white feather in a
cock's tail being considered a proof of cross-breeding.
WHITE-FISH. A fish of the salmon family, found in the lakes of North
America; also a name of the _hard-head_ (which see). It is a general
name for ling, cod, tusk, haddock, halibut, and the like, and for roach,
dace, &c., from the use of their scales to form artificial pearls. Also
applied to the beluga or white whale (_Beluga leucas_), a cetacean found
in the Arctic seas and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is from 12 to 15
feet long.
WHITE-HERRING. A pickled herring in the north, but in other parts a
fresh herring is so called.