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I make whistles, and I'm looking for a word that describes a maker of whistles or wind instruments as "luthier" describes a maker of stringed instruments. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Elizabeth
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Carpal Tunnel
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James Abbot McNeill might know...
welcome, Elizabeth!
formerly known as etaoin...
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whistlemaker?
whistlecarver??
whistlewright! (from wood)
whistlesmith! (from metal)
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Carpal Tunnel
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...and what will she become whenever she quits making them?
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Carpal Tunnel
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That was my thought, eta: The whistle's mother
TEd
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Carpal Tunnel
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I suspect that there is no English word for a person who makes whistles other than "whistle maker."
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Carpal Tunnel
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no English word
Onelook's reverse dictionary sure wasn't much help. I scanned through its first 300 offerings to no avail.
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FWIW, we recently had this same problem with reverse lookup when someone asked what a maker of bells is called.
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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Onelook's reverse dictionary sure wasn't much help. I scanned through its first 300 offerings to no avail.
Wish I'd known - I'd a started at t'other end  .
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Good news, Elizabeth Creith, there doesn't seem to be a preexisting word to singularly describe your particular skill. Soooo... How about Whistlemaster or flutemasters? Or maybe, whistlecrafter or windmaker (naw, forget windmaker. people are so crude) Let's see...we could suffix -artisans... whistleart? No? Ok, how about whistlesudras, you know, after India's lowly artisan caste? Me, personally, I like the Germanic sounding... guildersflute.  But best of all, I like... whistlemysteries. Definition: my-ster-ies (archaic) craft making What do ya think?
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Welcome to you, Elizabeth--sorry I omitted that yesterday. Who'd have ever thunk this? Not I, that's for sure. Apparently some whistle-makers are potters: http://www.sifflets-en-terre-cuite.org/HtmlE/Prod/PotTradi.htmlGoogling "history of making whistles" elicits some fascinating reading!
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a maker of whistles or wind instruments as "luthier" describes a maker of stringed instruments. Any ideas?Hi, Elizabeth: I'm a former member but I'm intrigued by your question and I think you might be looking for a word which is broader in scope than a maker of "whistles", just as a "luthier" is broader in scope than a maker of violins or other specific stringed instrument. Specifically, you said "whistles or wind instruments". A whistle belongs to the family of wind instruments known as "aerophone" *. An "aerophonist" would be a person who plays a wind instrument, like a whistle, wouldn't you think? Do you think we could get away with calling a maker of wind instruments an "aerophonier" [as the wind instrument counterpart of a "luthier"]? * Music Dictionary: Aerophone [Gr. aeros - air + phone - sound] An instrument such as the flute, whistle, and horn that produces sound by using air as the primary vibrating means.http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/texta/Aerophone.html
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Wow, what a lot of interesting suggestions! I thought about using "whistlesmith" because I already use "buttonsmith" - I make ceramic buttons as well as whistles. (If you want to see my whistles, my website is www.hedgehogceramics.ca.)I liked "whistlewright" better, but was really hoping for a traditional word. Oh, well. But all of these are great suggestions! Who knows what else will turn up?
I thought there was a word for "bellmaker", too! Surprising to find there isn't.
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Wistlesmith does sound nice but it would mean that you make the whistles out of metal only.
As tsuwm touched upon above, a smith is a person that works metal, and a wright works with other materials to make or repair things.
What is wrong with whistlemaker Elizabeth? It's pretty self-explanatory.
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There's nothing wrong with whistlemaker per se, I just was hoping for something more - oh, I don't know - picturesque.
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Fifesmith - or - Fluthier ... as long as it starts with "f" sound. 
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Fluthier! I love it! Thanks, musick!
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Carpal Tunnel
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If a maker of flutes is a flutier, what is a maker of flues?
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TEd
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Oh, I think "floozy" is an absolute, like "unique". You can't be "more unique", so you probably can't be floozier...
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Ask those people from Flindiana.
Floozier daddy??
TEd
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Glad to see that plural on Benedictine, there, Fr Steve, said TEd cordially.
TEd
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> mundane things like floozies
Your weeks start better than mine!
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You can't be "more unique"
You ain't been hanging around here long enough. We're all unique but musick is definitely more unique than any of the rest of us, more than some of us put together. Ledasdottir comes pretty close, too.
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TEd sez: "Glad to see that plural on Benedictine, there, Fr Steve, said TEd cordially."
There is no Benedictine in evidence here at the Mount Angel Abbey, but many Benedictines in their black hooded robes. There is no liquor at all, that I have seen, 'tho the brothers own quite a bit of farmland here in the fertile Willamette Valley, including some devoted to the growing of wine grapes and lots devoted to the growing of hops. ...said Father Steve dryly.
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> but musick is definitely more unique than any of the rest of us, more than some of us put together. Ledasdottir comes pretty close, too.
ROFLMAO! You da man Fong :)
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mav--its a well known fact i am only (on average) 2 standard deviations from the norm..
hardly unique.. not even a proper outlier... just 2 standard deviations... (some times just barely that .. but lets not quibble about numbers that small.
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shriek! a deviant in our midst - how did we never notice before now? oh, yeah, she fits in perfickly... :]
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only (on average) 2 standard deviations from the norm
There's always gotta be one.
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...more than some of us put together...
Well, I do declare: "That's the nicest thing nobody has never said to me..." and ya know I all ways reply on the *kindness of strangers, newbies, journeypeoples, members...
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Pooh-Bah
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I propose "flutewright" or "flautwright."
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