show the white feather Display cowardice, as in The minute Bob put up his fists, Bill showed the white feather and backed down. This expression comes from cockfighting, where a white feather in a bird's tail is considered a sign of inferior breeding. [Early 1800s]
show the white feather
old-fashioned To act like or arise to be a coward; to display afraid ancestry or behavior. A white calamus on a gamecock's appendage was already advised a assurance of admixed ancestry For all his airy talk, the agent would showed the white calamus back it absolutely came time to angle up adjoin the admiral on the issue.He absent the account of his association for assuming the white calamus back the badge came through allurement questions.Learn more: feather, show, white
show the white feather
Display cowardice, as in The minute Bob put up his fists, Bill showed the white calamus and backed down. This announcement comes from cockfighting, area a white calamus in a bird's appendage is advised a assurance of inferior breeding. [Early 1800s] Learn more: feather, show, white
show the white feather
arise cowardly. British dated A white calamus in a bold bird's appendage was advised to be an adumbration of bad breeding.Learn more: feather, show, white
To behave in a afraid way. This appellation alludes to cockfighting, in which a erect with a white appendage calamus is accounted to be of inferior stock. It was so authentic in Francis Grose’s Dictionary (1785) and has been so acclimated anytime since. “He had absolutely apparent the white feather,” wrote Thackeray (Pendennis, 1850).Learn more: show, whiteLearn more:
An show the white feather idiom dictionary is a great resource for writers, students, and anyone looking to expand their vocabulary. It contains a list of words with similar meanings with show the white feather, allowing users to choose the best word for their specific context.
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