[Idiom] "Whistling in the graveyard" / "Whistling past the graveyard"

[Olympian]

Hello,

I came across the following sentence in an article titled "Why We Can No Longer Trust Microsoft" on the pcmag website.

"[FONT=open_sansregular]If Microsoft thinks it can ignore what is happening by [/FONT][FONT=open_sansregular]whistling in the graveyard[/FONT][FONT=open_sansregular], it is in for a big surprise. The investors will be the first to get a clue, and the customers will follow."[/FONT]


I looked up the meaning of 'whistling in the graveyard' on Google, by entering 'meaning whistling in the graveyard'. The search results returned - 'whistling past the graveyard'. One of the search result entries is from usingenglish.com:
"

If someone is whistling past the graveyard, they are trying to remain cheerful in difficult circumstances. ('Whistling past the cemetery' is also used.)"​

Now I understand the meaning. My question is - is 'whistling in the graveyard' used in some places, perhaps in BrE?

Thank you

 

[Rover_KE]

Both expressions are unknown to this BrE speaker.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Whistling past the graveyard is more common in AmE.

 

[Barb_D]

I wasn't familiar with it either.

 

[probus]

Anyone who ever thought we could trust Microsoft is an idiot. Having said that, I agree with Mike: whistling "past" is more common.

And I think it is an Americanism.

 

[emsr2d2]

This BrE speaker has never heard of either. I rather like them though. Perhaps the writer used "in the graveyard" because they feel that Microsoft is even closer to "death" than just walking past the graveyard - they are actually inside it.

 

[JMurray]

not a teacher

I've read the expression "whistling past the graveyard", but never heard anyone say it. I'm sure I've heard "whistling in the dark", which can have the same meaning of adopting a nonchalant attitude in an unsettling situation.

 

[SoothingDave]

It's a common expression for me. With "past," that is. I think someone here simply doesn't know the correct expression.

 

[Tdol]

I think JMurray's idea that mixing two phrases is behind the mistake is likely.

 

[Olympian]

I think JMurray's idea that mixing two phrases is behind the mistake is likely.

Sort of like Indians (and some British) people (persons?) mixing the AmE and BrE pronunciation of 'schedule'. (They say 'skey-dule' instead of 'shey-dule' or 'skey-jule' - sorry, not sure how to accurately write the pronunciation). ;-)

 

[Tdol]

It's easy to mix up idioms, especially ones that are used rarely. If I use an idiom that I haven't used for years, I may be unsure about the wording. Today I heard a Senegalese politician, a very fluent speaker, say that it was opening a worm can, instead of a can of worms. This sort of thing is easy to do. You half remember two idioms you haven't used for ages and blur them. As you can see from the responses above,the whistling past the graveyard idiom is not common.

With your example, there is so much mixing of variants now through increased contact that features pass over, often unnoticed.

 

[Rover_KE]

Sort of like Indian (and some British) people [STRIKE](persons?)[/STRIKE] mixing the AmE and BrE pronunciation of 'schedule'. (They say 'sked-yule' instead of 'shed-yule') ;-)

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