Emily Dickinson Lexicon
Definition for Whist
whist, conj. [A natural utterance enjoining silence, such as hist, hush, ist, st.]
“Shhhh”; hush; shush; be still; [onomatopoeia] quickly; with a swish; in an instant; [word play on “whistle”; persona of the poem making a high-pitched sound with the lips and teeth] phew.
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