Dixie

[ dik-see ]
/ ˈdɪk si /

noun

Also called Dixieland, Dixie Land. the southern states of the United States, especially those that were formerly part of the Confederacy.
(italics) any of several songs with this name, especially the minstrel song (1859) by D. D. Emmett, popular as a Confederate war song.
a female given name.

adjective

of, from, or characteristic of the southern states of the United States.

Idioms for Dixie

    whistle Dixie, to indulge in unrealistically optimistic fantasies.

Origin of Dixie

1855–60, Americanism; often said to be (Mason-)Dix(on line) + -ie

British Dictionary definitions for whistle dixie (1 of 3)

dixie 1
/ (ˈdɪksɪ) /

noun

mainly military a large metal pot for cooking, brewing tea, etc
a mess tin

Word Origin for dixie

C19: from Hindi degcī, diminutive of degcā pot

British Dictionary definitions for whistle dixie (2 of 3)

dixie 2
/ (ˈdɪksɪ) /

noun

Northern English dialect a lookout

British Dictionary definitions for whistle dixie (3 of 3)

Dixie
/ (ˈdɪksɪ) /

noun

Also called: Dixieland the southern states of the US; the states that joined the Confederacy during the Civil War
a song adopted as a marching tune by the Confederate states during the American Civil War

adjective

of, relating to, or characteristic of the southern states of the US

Word Origin for Dixie

C19: perhaps from the nickname of New Orleans, from dixie a ten-dollar bill printed there, from French dix ten

Cultural definitions for whistle dixie

“Dixie”

An American song of the nineteenth century. It was used to build enthusiasm for the South during the Civil War and still is treated this way in the southern states. It was written for use in the theater by a northerner, Daniel Decatur Emmett. As usually sung today, “Dixie” begins:

I wish I was in the land of cotton;
Old times there are not forgotten:
Look away! Look away! Look away! Dixie Land.

Idioms and Phrases with whistle dixie

whistle Dixie

Engage in unrealistic, hopeful fantasizing, as in If you think you can drive there in two hours, you're whistling Dixie. This idiom alludes to the song “Dixie” and the vain hope that the Confederacy, known as Dixie, would win the Civil War.