white feather
noun
A white-coloured feather used as a symbol or mark of perceived cowardice. During the First World War young men seen not wearing uniform were sometimes presented with such a feather, as part of a campaign to induce men to enlist for military service: on his first trip out in civilian clothes, he’d been handed two white feathers...
- When young army officer Harry Feversham loses his nerve on the eve of being despatched to the Sudan, his three closest colleagues brand him a coward by sending him white feathers.
- Those who did not want to join the military could be targeted by people as cowards - being handed white feathers and being refused service by shops and pubs etc.
- His mates send him white feathers, the sign of cowardice, and his brain goes into shock.
Phrases
show the white feather
Origin
Late 18th century: with reference to a white feather in the tail of a game bird, seen as a mark of bad breeding.