A Symbol of Cowardice
The white feather as a symbol of cowardice supposedly comes from cockfighting and the belief that a cockerel sporting a white feather in its tail is likely to be a poor fighter. Pure-breed gamecocks do not show white feathers, so its presence indicates that the cockerel is an inferior cross-breed.
Read more about this topic: White Feather
Famous quotes containing the words symbol and/or cowardice:
“Mysticism is the mistake of an accidental and individual symbol for an universal one.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“When cowardice is made respectable, its followers are without number both from among the weak and the strong; it easily becomes a fashion.”
—Eric Hoffer (1902–1983)
Related Subjects
Related Phrases
Related Words