whistling

   Regarded as at least unwise and unlucky in a number of professions, including sailors who maintain that it conjures up a wind, miners, and actors. This latter has been rationalized by some as the fact that in old theatres certain sounds carry so readily that anyone whistling backstage can ruin a performance. However, many less logical reports state that whistling in the dressing-room causes the person nearest the door to be ill or sacked. Anyone guilty of whistling has to go outside and turn round three times and, in some cases, cannot come back into the dressing-room until invited to return (reported since 1910). Whistling after dark, in any situation, has been regarded as unwise since at least the beginning of the 18th century. Often no particular reason is given, but it is probably again based on the idea that whistling summons spirits or draws attention to oneself. Similarly, whistling should be particularly avoided by women; it was typically a skill with which men and boys entertained themselves, so a woman or girl attempting it would be labelled unfeminine. The rhyme quoted to reinforce this has a constant first but varied second line:

   A whistling woman and a crowing hen

   Is enough to make the Devil come out of his den

   Versions of this rhyme have been regularly reported from all over Britain since at least 1721.

   See also *seafaring customs and beliefs.

   ■ Opie and Tatem, 1989: 440-2.