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3. slick as a whistle

slick as a whistle

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*slick as a whistle

quickly and cleanly; quickly and skillfully. (*Also: as ~.) Tom took a broom and a mop and cleaned the place up as slick as a whistle. slick as a whistle, Sally pulled off the bandage.

See also: slick, whistle

slick as a whistle

Very-smooth and neat; also, smoothly, quickly, easily. For example, That salesman is as slick as a whistle, or The fence post went in place slick as a whistle. The allusion in this simile, first recorded in 1830, is not totally clear, but presumably it refers either to the ease of producing a whistle or to its clear tone.

See also: slick, whistle