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Reader question: Please explain this sentence: “He knew at heart that he was whistling in the dark – but it is a brave whistle that provides the courage to go on.” My comments: He knew he was in trouble but wasn’t prepared to just accept defeat or a similarly undesirable outcome. And so he whistled to himself – in order to spur himself on. In other words, he was being optimistic even though deep inside (at heart) he knew his optimism was not well founded. Here, “whistling in the dark” is a metaphor. He did not actually purse his lips to whistle a melodic tune. It’s just a figure of speech. In other words, he was just putting on a brave face in face of adversity. “Whistle in the dark” is a great phrase to learn here, of course. It is an American idiom and, as is the case with many nifty American idioms, you can probably figure out the meaning of this one. Imagine yourself walking down a dark alley alone in the dead of a moonless night. Yes, soon you may find yourself whistling to yourself. The act may well be involuntary. You may not know why you’re whistling. You’re doing it aimlessly. Or perhaps subconsciously you may think whistling helps. After all, walking in an alley on a pitch dark night can be scary. Making a little noise by whistling may therefore make you fearless or fear less – if, indeed, there is anything to fear. There might be nothing to fear our there in the dark, but who knows? | 
