Healthy as a whistle

This one was overheard at a dentist’s office. It is a mashup of “clean as a whistle (completely, entirely, or very neat) and “healthy as a horse” (someone in excellent physical shape and very strong/energetic). This one is another in “whistle” malaphors. What is it with mixing idioms with the word “whistle”? Other posts include “sharp as a whistle”, “security is tight as a whistle”, and “all those hoops and whistles”. https://malaphors.com/2025/02/05/sharp-as-a-whistle/ https://malaphors.com/2022/03/14/security-is-tight-as-a-whistle/ https://malaphors.com/2023/05/01/i-have-to-jump-through-all-those-bells-and-whistles/

Kudos to Lou Pugliese for hearing this one and sending it in.