lily-white
[adjective lil-ee-hwahyt, -wahyt; noun lil-ee-hwahyt, -wahyt]
adjective
white as a lily: soft lily-white skin.
pure; untouched by corruption or imperfection; above reproach: He tries to pass himself off as some sort of lily-white saint, but he's not.
designating or pertaining to any faction, organization, or group opposing the inclusion of blacks, especially in political or social life.
noun
a member of a lily-white organization, especially a member of a former faction of the Republican Party in the South opposed to the inclusion of blacks in the party or in political life in general.
Origin of lily-white
1275–1325; Middle English lylie-whyt
Synonyms for lily-white
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Related Words for lily-white
admirable, blameless, characteristic, classic, classical, commendable, correct, estimable, excellent, faultless, good, guiltless, honorable, illustrative, inculpable, innocent, irreprehensible, irreproachable, laudable, meritoriousExamples from the Web for lily-white
Contemporary Examples of lily-white
But only recently did this dispute spread to the lily-white slopes of a Montana ski resort.
Without pandering, Christie made real progress in appealing to voters outside the lily-white confines of the conservative base.
Historical Examples of lily-white
And then, brother, the faces of the beaux are of such a lily-white hue!
The ContrastRoyall Tyler
Her face, that had been lily-white, was flushed from brow to neck.
A Little Girl in Old SalemAmanda Minnie Douglas
Should the people be allowed to think that he was lily-white?
Hail to the ChiefGordon Randall Garrett
They went on swimming about after their own lily-white mother.
I have always told my friends that you were a chilling, lily-white flake of snow.
Marie TarnowskaAnnie Vivanti
lily-white
adjective
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper