A phrase that gets less exciting after each word, like ‘Gift Bag Request’ or ‘Free Crab Bisque.’ A dog whistle produces a sound that’s audible to dogs but not humans. And why a dictionary? Well, it’s simple…and depressing.

Beyond training dogs and pranking your neighbors, “dog whistle” has another meaning and usage – a word/phrase that some humans can ‘hear’ (understand). A dog whistle seems benign on the surface but has a secret meaning for those in the know, which helps dickheads spread hate through coded language.

Thanks to social media, dog whistles have exploded in popularity.

And while some are new, the ideas they promote are literally millenia old. What’s changed is how far they can spread without being “heard.” Because, if they were heard, they’d likely be rejected and condemned in what historians and scholars call "being ratioed." Andrew Anglin, founder of the white supremacist website The Daily Stormer, says that “most people are not comfortable with material that comes across as vitriolic, raging, non-ironic hatred.” That’s why the reader of dog whistles “is slowly awakened to reality by continually repeatedly reading the same points.” 

We hope Dog Whistle Dictionary helps you ‘hear’ those repeated antisemitic undertones before they seep into your subconsciousness, or however it works (we’re not psychologists, but we did skim a Malcolm Gladwell book once. Does that count?).