Idiom
blow the whistle
Meaning
To disclose information to the public or to appropriate authorities concerning the illegal or socially harmful actions of a person or group, especially a corporation or government agency.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The employee decided to blow the whistle on the company's illegal activities.”
“After discovering that the factory was dumping waste into the river, the manager decided to blow the whistle to the local authorities.”
“The nurse chose to blow the whistle after she noticed the hospital was ignoring safety rules to save money on equipment.”
“Despite the threat of losing his pension, the accountant felt morally obligated to blow the whistle on the systemic fraud occurring within the corporation.”
Examples
simple
“The employee decided to blow the whistle on the company's illegal activities.”
contextual
“After discovering that the factory was dumping waste into the river, the manager decided to blow the whistle to the local authorities.”
“The nurse chose to blow the whistle after she noticed the hospital was ignoring safety rules to save money on equipment.”
complex
“Despite the threat of losing his pension, the accountant felt morally obligated to blow the whistle on the systemic fraud occurring within the corporation.”
Origin
Probably an allusion to the practice of a police officer blowing a whistle upon observing a violation of the law, the phrase entered the English lexicon as a metaphor for exposing illicit activity. The whistle served as a public signal that the rules of play, or the laws of the land, had been interrupted by a transgression. The literal action provided a convenient shorthand for the transition from quiet observation to formal intervention.
Key words
Related idioms
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