dog whistle (also dog-whistle)
noun phrase

- a message only some can hear

- relating to the targeting of potentially controversial messages to specific voters while avoiding offending those voters with whom the message will not be popular

- an ultrasonic whistle, audible to dogs and some other animals but out of the range easily perceptible to the human ear, used by handlers of working dogs and by dog trainers

Merriam-Webster / Collins Dictionary / Cambridge Dictionary

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ORIGIN & EXAMPLES

Dog-whistle politics is political messaging employing coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has an additional, different, or more specific resonance for a targeted subgroup. The analogy is to a dog whistle, whose ultrasonic tone is heard by dogs, but is inaudible to humans.

The term was first picked up in Australian politics in the mid-1990s, and was frequently applied to the political campaigning of John Howard. Throughout his 11 years as Australian prime minister and particularly in his fourth term, Howard was accused of communicating messages appealing to anxious Australian voters using code words such as "un-Australian", "mainstream", and "illegals".

In April 2016, the then Mayor of London and Conservative MP Boris Johnson was accused of "dog-whistle racism" when Johnson suggested US President Barack Obama held a grudge against the United Kingdom due to his "ancestral dislike of the British Empire" as a result of his "part-Kenyan" heritage, after Obama expressed his support for the UK to vote to remain in the European Union ahead of the UK's referendum on EU membership.

During the 2016 presidential election campaign and on a number of occasions throughout his presidency, Donald Trump has been accused of using racial and anti-Semitic "dog whistling" techniques.

"Dog whistle" is not to be confused with "wolf whistle", a distinctive 2-toned whistle sounded to express approval of another person's (especially a woman's) appearance.


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DOG-IDIOMS

- A barking dog never bites - people who make big threats rarely take action

- In the doghouse - in trouble with someone

- The tail wagging the dog - a small or unimportant factor or issue dominates the situation

- Dog days of summer - the hottest days of the summer season

- Gone to the dogs - something has become ruined or degraded

- Dog's breakfast - something that is messy or poorly done

- Like a dog's dinner - In a state of disorder or chaos

- Dog and pony show - an elaborate presentation or campaign

- Dog's years - a very long time

- Dog ears - the folding down of the corner of a page in a book to mark one's place

- Every dog has its day - everyone will have their moment of glory or success

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SMUGGLE OWAD into an English conversation, say something like:

“Francis Galton, the inventor of the DOG-WHISTLE over a century ago, would be quite surprised to know how it's meaning has evolved."

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