The buzzword of the week is "dog whistle," a term that has been bandied about by commentators for some time now, but none have bothered to explain what it means.
It seems to suggest something that incites others, but how and why is not clear. And why the term "dog whistle" anyway?
There is a type of whistle that emits a sound of such a high frequency that it cannot be heard by people but can be heard by dogs, and is used by some to attract the attention of their canine friends without disrupting people nearby.
But in discussions among broadcast commentators, the term is often used, leaving one to wonder whether the pundits are comparing politicians to canines, or comparing people in general to creatures who get excited over things that only they can hear, or perhaps they cannot hear at all, but they somehow know that this is something they should get excited about.
So does that clear things up, so that now everyone understands what pundits mean when they refer to some comment as a "dog whistle"?
No?
I didn't think so. Maybe the frequency is so high that people can't hear it. If that's the case, then the commentators have failed to communicate their message.
Try getting another lower-frequency whistle, or perhaps a trumpet. But don't blare.
Better yet, find words and phrases that people understand. After all, one hopes that is the purpose of your talking.
Comprehension is a wonderful thing.
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