a whisker away / within a whisper of

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KON

KON

Senior Member
Athens - Greece
Greek
Hi everyone,

Can someone please help me with the following query? Is there any difference in the meaning between the following sentences?

1) He took the Blues (Chelsea FC) with in a whisper of winning the title.

2) The Blues were a whisker away from winning the title.


A) The price of oil gets a whisker away from $100.

B) The price of oil is with in a whisper of $100.


Thanks a lot in advance.
 
Last edited:
    • Kevin Beach

    Kevin Beach

    Senior Member
    Ninfield (Near Battle), East Sussex, England
    British English
    I think that "whisper" is a mistake in both cases.

    "Whisker" is used because a whisker is very thin. To say that something comes "within a whisker" of something else means that there is less than a whisker's width between them.

    "Whisper", not being physical, cannot means the same.
     
    KON

    KON

    Senior Member
    Athens - Greece
    Greek
    I have been researhing the phrase "with in a whisper of" on the internet and I found an article in the guardian

    "Clinton shows winning way in defeat.... In becoming the first woman to come within a whisper of being a Democratic presidential nominee, she shattered...." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/07/hillaryclinton.barackobama1)

    In the above extract from the article, can you replace "within a whisper" with "within a whisker?"
     
    Kevin Beach

    Kevin Beach

    Senior Member
    Ninfield (Near Battle), East Sussex, England
    British English
    KON said:
    I have been researhing the phrase "with in a whisper of" on the internet and I found an article in the guardian

    "Clinton shows winning way in defeat.... In becoming the first woman to come within a whisper of being a Democratic presidential nominee, she shattered...." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jun/07/hillaryclinton.barackobama1)

    In the above extract from the article, can you replace "within a whisper" with "within a whisker?"
    Click to expand...
    Yes. In fact, I think that "whisper" was mistakenly used there because the two words sound so similar.
     
    panjandrum

    panjandrum

    Lapsed Moderator
    Belfast, Ireland
    English-Ireland (top end)
    If I came across within a whisper of I would understand it as a mistaken whisker unless there was something in the context to make the version with whisper a deliberate play on words.

    In the Guardian quote, I wonder if the writer felt that using within a whisker could seem incongruous when used with reference to a woman almost becoming a presidential candidate. Did he substitute whisper for whisker with the idea that whisper is a more feminine word than whisker?
     
    Kevin Beach

    Kevin Beach

    Senior Member
    Ninfield (Near Battle), East Sussex, England
    British English
    panjandrum said:
    If I came across within a whisper of I would understand it as a mistaken whisker unless there was something in the context to make the version with whisper a deliberate play on words.

    In the Guardian quote, I wonder if the writer felt that using within a whisker could seem incongruous when used with reference to a woman almost becoming a presidential candidate. Did he substitute whisper for whisker with the idea that whisper is a more feminine word than whisker?
    Click to expand...
    I'm not sure that "whisker" means a human whisker. It's just a means of measurement. It's far more likely to be a cat's whisker, isn't it?
     
    Kevin Beach

    Kevin Beach

    Senior Member
    Ninfield (Near Battle), East Sussex, England
    British English
    The problem with "Within a whisper" is that it doesn't have the same obvious meaning as "within a whisker".

    I can understand how "whisker" can be a form of measurement, but not "whisper". The metaphor just doesn't work.

    I think it is for those who use "whisper" to justify its logic, if it has any.
     
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