white feather (redirected from Order of the White Feather)

white feather

n.

A sign of cowardice.

Idiom:

show the white feather

To act like a coward.

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[From the belief that a gamecock with a white feather in its tail was a poor fighter.]

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white feather

n

1. a symbol or mark of cowardice

show the white feather to act in a cowardly manner

[from the belief that a white feather in a gamecock's tail was a sign of a poor fighter]

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

white feather - a symbol of cowardice                 symbolic representation, symbolisation, symbolization, symbol - something visible that by association or convention represents something else that is invisible; "the eagle is a symbol of the United States"