GREAT WHITE HOPE


Meaning of GREAT WHITE HOPE in English

n ( AmE )

any white boxer who was thought to have a chance of beating Jack Johnson , who was the first African-American heavyweight champion and not popular with many white Americans. The Great White Hope was a film (1970) based on Johnson’s life. The expression is still sometimes used in the sport of boxing today, but usually in a humorous way.

Oxford guide to British and American culture English vocabulary.      Руководство по британской и американской культуре, Оксфордский английский словарь.