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White feather. World English Historical Dictionary

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White feather. World English Historical Dictionary Dictionary Biographies Literary Criticism Welcome Terms of Service ⧏ Previous Next ⧐ Contents Slice Contents Key Bibliographic Record Murray’s New English Dictionary. 1928, rev. 2024. White feather in phr. to show the white feather, etc.: see FEATHER sb. 1 b. Hence White-feather, one who ‘show’s the white feather,’ a coward; White-feathered a., lit. having white feathers; fig. ‘showing the white feather,’ cowardly; White-featherism (nonce-wd.), cowardice.

1 1785.  Grose, Dict. Vulgar T., *White feather, he has a white feather, he is a coward, an allusion to a game cock, where having a white feather, is a proof he is not of the true game breed.

2 1805.  Sporting Mag., XXVI. 56/2. According to the boxing phrase, shewed the white feather and gave in, when it was supposed he had the best of it.

3 1816.  Scott, Bl. Dwarf, ix. ‘He has a white feather in his wing,’… said Simon,… somewhat scandalized by his ready surrender.

4 1825–.  [see FEATHER sb. 1 b].

5 1857.  Borrow, Romany Rye, xliii. Jack is a gentleman,… whilst t’other, though bred a lord, is a screw, and a *white-feather.

6 1876.  Sporting Mag., XLVIII. 4. He was one of the *white-feathered sort.

7 1854.  Poultry Chron., I. 49. All white-feathered poultry are tender, save Aylesbury ducks.

8 1843.  [G. P. R. James], Commissioner: or De Lunatico Inq., iv. 39. That he might show as little white featherism as possible in the preliminaries, he plied him with wine during dinner.

9 1888.  Brooklyn Daily Eagle, 5 March, 4/6. The crowd, now slightly augmented, began to murmur audibly, some of them actually accusing the Arch Anarchist of white featherism.

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