to show the white feather
Preserved but no longer current.
To show coward- ice; a phrase from the cockpit when a game- cock is getting the worst of the fight and wants to stop, he makes the fact known by lifting his hackle — a long narrow feather on the neck. The under rim of the hackle is edged with white feathers.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to show the white feather” mean?
To show coward- ice; a phrase from the cockpit when a game- cock is getting the worst of the fight and wants to stop, he makes the fact known by lifting his hackle — a long narrow feather on the neck. The under rim of the hackle is edged with white feathers.
Is “to show the white feather” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.