Security is tight as a whistle

Daymond John, CEO of FUBU and one of the sharks on Shark Tank, was talking to some contestants who had snuck two big trash bags into a Phoenix Suns game. John replied that “security is tight as a whistle” there. This is a mashup of “tight as a drum” (sealed tight) and “clean/slick as a whistle” (completely, entirely – also well-behaved and not involved in illegal activity). John was of course thinking of just the word “tight” as in “security is tight” but apparently wanted to add a simile. Tight security means the place is “clean” so that might be where the mental mixup originated. A big thanks to Mike Kovacs for hearing this one!