not worth a whistle

not worth a whistle

English

Adjective

not worth a whistle (not comparable)

1. (idiomatic) Worthless or pointless.
   • 1848, Blanchard Jerrold, The disgrace to the family: A story of social distinctions, page 92:

     We are a set of worthless fellows not worth a whistle.

   • 2010, Yuvraj Ramsaroop, Realizing the American Dream, →ISBN:

     “The life of a Negro in Mississippi is not worth a whistle,” one of the European newspapers reported.

   • 2011, Jennifer Lawler, Martial Arts For Dummies, →ISBN:

     This, of course, is ridiculous, as most people can plainly see, but you'd be surprised at how often otherwise intelligent individuals fail to distinguish between what's worth fighting over and what's not worth a whistle.

   • 2015, Ruth Scurr, John Aubrey: My Own Life, →ISBN, page 257:

     This greatly irritated Mr Hooke and he muttered that Mr Wylde is not worth a whistle'.