• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / Language / Where does the saying “to show the white feather” come from and What does it mean?

Where does the saying “to show the white feather” come from and What does it mean?

March 25, 2020 by Karen Hill

To behave in a cowardly manner; to act pusillanimously.

The expression comes from the cockpit, the arena or ring where gamecocks are pitted against one another to see which can vanquish the other.

Cockfighting is one of the oldest of sports; it is recorded among early Chinese accounts and was practiced in ancient India, Persia, and Egypt. Throughout all this period birds have been selected for fighting abilities and high wagers have been staked between owners, and between friends of each, on the relative prowess of their cocks.

But about two centuries ago, at least, no earlier mention has been found, someone made the discovery that if a cock had so much as one white feather in its tail, that bird was certain to be a poor fighter, that he would run from the other bird and put up no fight at all.

Whether this is true or not, and, if true, it seems strange that it was not known hundreds of years earlier, it became fully believed and passed into a byword that, when applied to a person, became a stigma of cowardice,

Related Facts

  • Where does the saying "blood, toil, tears, and sweat" come from and What does it mean?
  • What Does the Saying Started At Pudding and Ended At Pie Mean and Where Did the Expression Come From?
  • Where Does the Expression "To Beard the Lion In His Den" Come From and What Does the Saying Mean?
  • Where does the saying "not dry behind the ears" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the saying "to eat humble pie" come from and What does it mean?
  • Where does the saying "to put one through a course of sprouts" come from and What does it mean?

Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « Where does the phrase “to rain cats and dogs” come from and What does the expression mean?
Next Post: What does the expression “on the anxious seat” mean and Where does it come from? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2021 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy