grandfathered in
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
That one is exempt from a new rule or policy because one established their activity or status before the rule changed.
được miễn trừ vì đã tồn tại trước khi quy định mới được ban hành
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
How to use it
✗ Avoid it when
This expression is widely considered racist or offensive today; the history is documented in the notes. Documented here descriptively, not as an endorsement.
Connotation: offensive to many; contested
Sources & notes
Imported from Wikipedia “List of idioms considered racist” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29), pending review. Why it’s contested: It is derived from the so-called "grandfather clauses" that were put into law after the U.S. Civil War which exempted poor, uneducated white citizens from taking the hard literacy tests that Black Americans had to in order to vote. The law was that if one's ancestor, a grandfather for example, could vote, they were also allowed to (which excluded Black Americans because their ancestors were enslaved).
Common questions
What does “grandfathered in” mean?
That one is exempt from a new rule or policy because one established their activity or status before the rule changed.
Is “grandfathered in” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.