View synonyms for lily-white

lily-white

[ adjective lil-ee-hwahyt, -wahyt; noun lil-ee-hwahyt, -wahyt ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

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 Black people, especially in political or social life.
Synonyms: unintegrated, discriminatory, segregated

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 African Americans in the party or in political life in general. Compare black and tan ( def 3 ).

lily-white

of a pure white
lily-white skin
informal.
pure; irreproachable
informal.
1. discriminating against Black people
  a lily-white club
2. racially segregated

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First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English lylie-whyt

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But only recently did this dispute spread to the lily-white slopes of a Montana ski resort.

A single drop of a less-than-lily-white ancestral hemoglobin somewhere along the line?

Without pandering, Christie made real progress in appealing to voters outside the lily-white confines of the conservative base.

The crowd too was less lily white than your average Tea Party shindig.

And even if the case does go downtown, that doesn't exactly mean there'll be a lily white jury.

"It is always the unexpected which happens, Jay," she said, holding out both her lily-white hands.

Another party came into power and the lily-white government was established.

Alleyne, glancing at her, noted that her breath came quick and short, and that her cheeks had blanched to a lily white.

He mingled his swarthy fingers with my golden tresses—and he rubbed his dreadful Thomashawk across my lily-white face.

The Prince bowed and pressed a kiss upon her hand and she was glad it was lily white and not rough and red.

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