dog whistling
Veiled political signaling
Dog whistling is communicating a message that appears innocent to general audiences but carries a specific, often controversial meaning to a targeted group.
The term comes from actual dog whistles, which emit frequencies only dogs can hear.
In politics, dog whistling typically involves coded appeals to prejudice: Critics accused the candidate of dog whistling to white nationalists.
The phrase often appears as a noun: a dog whistle to the base.
- coded languageCommunication using concealed meanings
- coded messageText needing decryption
- hidden meaningUnspoken message beneath surface
- subtextImplicit meaning beneath words
- innuendoOblique disparaging remark
signal · racism · plausible deniability · politics · political rhetoric · wink · wink wink · nod · nudge nudge · subtle · veiled · implicit · messaging · rhetoric · bigotry · ultrasonic · frequency · pitch
- political tacticscampaigning, gerrymandering, filibuster, campaigns, voter suppression
- debate tacticsexaggeration, appeal to authority, appeal to emotion, logical fallacy, straw man
dog whistlingsaying the quiet part out loud
Voicing implicit assumptions publicly
straight talk · directness · bluntness · candor · telling it like it is
dog whistlingtransparency
State of being see-through
honesty · forthrightness · sincerity · plain dealing · straight shooting
whistle, dogs, whistles, whistled, whistling, whistler, dogged, dogging