the.com/wheeze
the lungs filing a noise complaint about their own working conditions
means To breathe with a rough, whistling sound, usually because the airways are narrowed or congested; also, informally, a clever scheme or old joke.
from From Old English or Old Norse roots — likely the Old Norse 'hvæsa,' meaning to hiss, a fittingly breathy ancestor. The word itself is essentially onomatopoeic: it sounds like the labored rasp it names. The 'clever scheme' sense is a later British slang development, probably from the idea of a theatrical performer's improvised, well-worn gag — a comic bit 'wheezed out' on cue.
- the sound
- air squeezing through airways too narrow
- british slang
- a clever trick or amusing scheme
- telltale pitch
- doctors distinguish high from low whistles diagnostically
- laughter cousin
- extreme giggling can collapse into helpless wheezing
asthma — affects 262 million people worldwide with airway inflammation causing wheezing sounds
bronchitis — inflammation of bronchial tubes in lungs, commonly produces wheezing during cough
anaphylaxis — severe allergic reaction that can cause airway constriction and wheezing within minutes