Great White Father

American  

noun

Facetious.

1. the president of the U.S.

2. any man who holds a position of great authority.

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Etymology

Origin of Great White Father

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20; after the epithet supposedly used for the U.S. president by American Indians in the 19th century

Example Sentences

Maraniss states that he was a victim of the harmful myth “that the Great White Father knows best.”

From Washington Post

“Some day this oil will go and there will be no more fat checks every few months from the Great White Father,” a chief of the Osage said in 1928.

From Literature

“My dad was a sweet man but not an easy laugh. My dad lost it, and I went, ‘Who is this guy who made the great white father laugh?’”

From Salon

Another protester said, “Our black administration seems to think that . they are showing the great white father how good we are. And the great white father is over there laughing at how stupid we are.”

From Washington Times

Though he advocated autonomy from the Environmental Protection Agency’s “regulatory scheme,” he wrote an environmental code for the tribes, he said, so that they could protect the environment “our way,” without depending on “the Great White Father in Washington, D.C.”

From New York Times