fair sex

American  

Or fairer sex

noun

Older Use: Sometimes Offensive.

1. women as a group (usually used facetiously).

   an insult to the fair sex.

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fair sex British  

noun

1. women collectively

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fair sex Idioms  

1. Girls or women, as in Many women would object to being called the fair sex nowadays. This euphemism uses fair in the sense of “physically beautiful” and is probably dying out. [Mid-1600s]

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Sensitive Note

This is a dated term, usually used for humorous effect. It uses the word fair in the sense of “physically attractive”; because it refers to a woman in terms of her appearance, it is sometimes perceived as demeaning.

Etymology

Origin of fair sex

First recorded in 1680–90

Example Sentences

The book American and Other Drinks touts the ladies’ blush as a "favourite drink among the fair sex," neglecting to cite its popularity with aspiring hyperglycemics.

From Slate • Jan. 21, 2013

The entire staff of our frigate was invited, and over a hundred guests, comprising the flower of the fair sex of Cape Town, took part in the festivities.

From Narrative of the Circumnavigation of the Globe by the Austrian Frigate Novara, Volume I (Commodore B. Von Wullerstorf-Urbair,) Undertaken by Order of the Imperial Government in the Years 1857, 1858, & 1859, Under the Immediate Auspices of His I. and R. Highness the Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, Commander-In-Chief of the Austrian Navy. by Scherzer, Karl Ritter von

She had the same desire as the majority of wealthy American girls: a great title of nobility in order to make her friends among the fair sex jealous and to shine in European circles.

From The Enemies of Women (Los enemigos de la mujer) by Blasco Ib??ez, Vicente

Little Artaban never enters a salon without making a handspring, and his papa is confident that that fashion will soon be adopted by the fair sex.

From San-Cravate; or, The Messengers; Little Streams by Kock, Charles Paul de

Bottiger, whose good graces were considered most important, received even the fair sex.

From The Countess Cosel A Romance of History of the Times of Augustus the Strong by Kraszewski, Jo?zef Ignacy