Most of us like our houses clean as a whistle. Cleaning takes a lot of elbow grease, but everything looks good when we finish.

Clean as a whistle has more than one meaning.

It refers to things, like houses or offices.

We try to keep them:

• Neat
• Dirt-free
• Organized
• Spotless

If we let things slide too long without cleaning, they require much more work.

In addition, it means all of anything or entirely.

We might:

• Eat a cake – the whole thing
• Complete a race – all of it
• Finish the yard work – with nothing left to do

Clean as a whistle also refers to people.

If we are clean as a whistle, we:

• Obey the law
• Have high morals
• Mind our Ps and Qs

We live as we should.

Clean as a whistle’s origin remains uncertain.

It many have come from an earlier simile, clear as a whistle. A whistle’s sound is fairly clear. Whatever the origin, clean as a whistle challenges us to live pure lives.

“All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure” (1John 3:3 NIV).

Thanks to Carole Fite for the suggestion. Image by elbgau from Pixabay.

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