pure as the driven snow

Morally unsullied, chaste, as in She's just sixteen and pure as the driven snow. This simile dates from the late 1500s, although driven, which means “carried by the wind into drifts,” was occasionally omitted. It is heard less often today.

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This Word Of The Day Quiz Is Pure Anodyne This quiz will leave you riant ... especially if you get 100%.

What Is The Difference Between Snow Flurries And Snow Showers?Snow refers to the partially frozen water vapor which falls in flakes. The expression snow flurries refers to light, intermittent snowfall without significant accumulation. Snow flurries tend to come from stratiform clouds. Snow showers is the label used to refer to a short period of light-to-moderate snowfall, also characterized by a sudden beginning and ending. There is some accumulation with snow showers, and they fall from convective or cumuliform clouds. A snow …

RELATED WORDS

unsullied, pristine, chaste, angelic, good, stainless, clear, safe, clean, upright, angelical, exemplary, faultless, guiltless, harmless, honest, immaculate, impeccable, inculpable, irreproachable

Nearby words

purdonium, purdy, pure, pure absence, pure and simple, pure as the driven snow, pure culture, pure democracy, pure food and drug act, pure imaginary number, pure laine

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.