dog whis·tle - a high-pitched whistle used to train dogs, typically having a sound inaudible to humans.
- a subtly aimed political message which is intended for, and can only be understood by, a particular group: "dog-whistle issues such as immigration, race or crime"
- Dog-whistle politics is political messaging employing coded language that appears to mean one thing to the general population but has an additional, different or more specific resonance for a targeted subgroup. The phrase is often used as a pejorative because of the inherently deceptive nature of the practice and because the dog-whistle messages are frequently distasteful to the general populace. The analogy is to a dog whistle, whose high-frequency whistle is heard by dogs but inaudible to humans.
