| 释义 |
white feather, to show the show the white featherold-fashioned To act like or appear to be a coward; to exhibit cowardly traits or behavior. A white feather on a gamecock's tail was once considered a sign of impure breeding For all his blustery talk, the senator would showed the white feather when it actually came time to stand up against the president on the issue. He lost the respect of his community for showing the white feather when the police came through asking questions.See also: feather, show, whiteshow the white featherDisplay 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] See also: feather, show, whiteshow the white feather appear cowardly. British dated A white feather in a game bird's tail was considered to be an indication of bad breeding.See also: feather, show, white show the white feather To act like a coward.See also: feather, show, whitewhite feather, to show theTo behave in a cowardly way. This term alludes to cockfighting, in which a cock with a white tail feather is deemed to be of inferior stock. It was so defined in Francis Grose’s Dictionary (1785) and has been so used ever since. “He had certainly shown the white feather,” wrote Thackeray (Pendennis, 1850).See also: show, white |