No Whistling Allowed! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1

She will forever sit motionless in time, just as her son James Abbott McNeill once painted her. She looks peaceful and contemplative, unconcerned with worldly things. Does anyone know her name? Anna McNeill Whistler, who may have sat in for a model who failed to show, was immortalized by her son.

He saw the painting as a simple arrangement and made a "No. 2" of the same name with 19th century historian/essayist Thomas Carlyle as the model; it never gained the popularity of the first one.

Answer: Oh, Whistle and I'll Come To You, My Lad

M.R. James (1862-1936) published an anthology of ghost stories in 1931. The named tale involves a professor on vacation who is staying at an English hotel by the seaside. The only accommodation available for him is a secluded room with a three-sided window affording a panoramic view.

Much content with the arrangement, he is not upset that there is an extra bed in the room for which the hotel had no storage room. On his walks along the shore he discovers an old Templar fortification and when he digs around, he finds a cylinder made of metal.

This he places in his pocket and examines more closely when he is back in his room. After cleaning the object, he can read runes on the side: "Quis est iste qui uenit (venit)" - in the story the s's are shown as swastikas bracketing the Latin quote, "Who is he/she/it that cometh".

Other words or parts of them are FLA, FUR, FLE and BIS, which remain unexplained. The object turns out to be a primitive whistle, and, of course, the professor blows it. The rest I leave to your imagination. No spoilers here; look it up!

Answer: Whistling Dixie

Possibly a U.S. southern regional idiom, it is more often used in the negative, as in, "He's not just whistling Dixie!". This means that he is quite serious in what he says or does. Dixie represents the South, and is possibly descended from the French word for a ten dollar note, 'dixit'.

Other possibilities are that it was named for Dixon of the Mason-Dixon line or that it was named for a northern farmer, Dixy, on whose Manhattan plantation slaves were treated exceedingly well. "Dixie" was the confederate anthem during the American Civil War and has remained popular.

Answer: To Have and Have Not

Lauren Bacall, nicknamed "Slim" by Bogie in the 1944 film, is seductive and coy as she instructs Steve how to whistle: "Just put your lips together and blow". The two starred together in the other three films cited, and were married in 1945. Although at times a stormy relationship, it lasted until Bogie's death in 1957.

He is considered by many polls to be the quintessential film actor, having more than 75 films to his credit as well as many stage appearances prior to his film career. His remains were cremated, and a whistle charm he had given Bacall was interred with him. Bogart's mother, Maud Humphrey, was a very successful commercial illustrator, who studied with James McNeil Whistler.

Answer: Whenever I feel afraid

Sung by Miss Leonowens (Deborah Kerr) in the 1956 film, this expression captures much of what whistling is about. Whistling shows lack of concern, carefreeness and even happiness in the face of adversity. It may be feigned and become real, or simply put on for show, but it's more difficult to whistle when your lips are turned down, essentially proving that 'if you go through the right motions, you will feel the right emotions'.

The film was based on the musical play, which was based on the book "Anna and The King of Siam" by Margaret Landon. The play ran off and on successfully for more than fifty years, originally with Yul Brynner as King Mongkut and Gertrude Lawrence as Anna.

Answer: Railroad tracks

A whistle stop is used in some countries to designate a lesser used public transport system's boarding and/or disembarking station. In some countries, it is called a request stop and is usually signaled in the proper way at least an hour before, so that the vehicle will know to slow down for a stop rather than speed through.

'Whistle stop campaigning' has been used by many politicians for delivering speeches from the rear of a train to small town residents - audiences that would otherwise be left off the grand circuit. Before the instant communications age, it was an exciting and 'grass roots' way of selling candidates.

Answer: The Hunger

"The Hunger" relied almost solely on classical and Baroque music, with some modern music and screaming thrown in for good measure. Clint Eastwood starred in the "Dollars Trilogy" as the man with no name, although he is referred to variously as Blondie, Manco, Joe, the bounty hunter and other titles: 1964 "Fistful of Dollars", 1965 "For a Few Dollars More" and 1966 "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly".

The 1931 thriller "M" starred Peter Lorre as the malignant murderer who whistled Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from the "Peer Gynt Suite" prior to killing. In actuality, Lorre was unable to whistle so the director, Fritz Lang, filled in with a rather shrill and ragged rendition that served the purpose.

"The Bridge on The River Kwai" had British P.O.W.s whistling the "Colonel Bogey March" in defiance of their captors.

Other uses of whistle themes include "The Andy Griffith Show", "Kill Bill" and the 1932 film "Scarface".

Answer: Wet your whistle

Your whistle being your mouth from whence whistling comes and to which beverages are applied, you might indeed wish to wet it on occasion. Keeping hydrated is very important at all times of year, particularly in winter to prevent your skin from getting too dry, and in summer to replace any fluid lost in perspiration.

Answer: Whistle-blower

There are many examples in history of whistleblowers, and several films that deal with that subject. These include: 2010's "Whistleblower", 2000's "Erin Brockovich", 1983's "Silkwood", 1993's "The Firm", and 2013's "The Informant".

Answer: Whistle Down the Wind

Alan Bates is just 'the man' found by some children; he's injured and hiding in the family barn. Before he loses consciousness he answers their question about his identity: "Jesus Christ". Because of his appearance and nature, the young girl played by Hayley believes he is Jesus Christ.

She feels she should protect him, and her two younger siblings go along with this. Eventually the police get wind of the man, who is wanted for murder, and he is arrested. The children, in their innocence, feel that they have done an injustice, and the audience is led to believe that the man is beneficially affected by their vision of him.