whistle past the graveyard
Pretend everything's fine
To whistle past the graveyard is to put on a brave front in the face of fear or uncertainty—to act unconcerned while genuinely worried.
The image is of someone walking past a cemetery at night, whistling to calm their nerves or ward off dread.
The phrase often implies that the confidence is hollow: The CEO's optimistic forecast felt like whistling past the graveyard.
- put on a brave facePretend confidence despite anxiety
- denyRefuse to admit
- feignPretend to have
- bolsterStrengthen or buttress
- stiff upper lipControlled emotional restraint
ignore · fear · turn a blind eye · look the other way · courage · unafraid · compartmentalization · suppression · denial · avoidance · mortality · make light of · superstition · rationalization · grin and bear it · nervous laughter · dark humor · gallows humor
whistle past the graveyardconfront one's demons
Wrestle with personal torments
wear one's heart on one's sleeve · come clean · bare one's soul
whistle past the graveyardface the music
Accept deserved consequences
grasp the nettle · take the bull by the horns · bite the bullet · stare down · stand one's ground
whistle past the graveyardface facts
Accept uncomfortable truths
take stock · reckon with · come to terms with · wake up and smell the coffee
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