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fair-haired

fair-haired

2 7.2
A person people in charge treat as a favorite
  • adjective
translation icon : rubio
  • Lucille was a thin, fair-haired girl with a finicky stomach, irregular periods, and sensitive skin.
  • fair-haired boy
  • fair-haired man
  • tall, fair-haired

Examples

  • He wasn't more than fifteen, but he would be as big as all the damned Vikings, and fair-haired, his eyes blue as the summer skies.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Will is the fair-haired, and Jim, the dark.

  • Well, it's the fair-haired chap in the brown suit standing right underneath it.

  • They indicate a marriage very soon to a tall, fair-haired young man with a very lovely father.

  • Her summons was answered by a tall, fair-haired young man.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Even from a distance, you could see that the man was very tall, thin, and fair-haired, and the woman wore a suit and leaned on him too much.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Irina Spalko, she was Stalin's fair-haired girl.

  • He was considered the fair-haired child of the company, always receiving praise for his innovative ideas.

  • As the fair-haired favorite of the director, she was given the best roles in every production.

  • The fair-haired athlete consistently received preferential treatment from the coaches during practice.

Synonyms

favorite
vsfair-haired
  • US
1.0

Liked more than other people or things

is used mainly to mean being specially treated by authorities
preferred
vsfair-haired
8 2.8

Liked or chosen more than others

is about being treated specially by authority rather than mere choice
blue-eyed
vsfair-haired
  • Informal
3 5.3

A person treated as a favorite by someone in charge

is the general idea but emphasizes favoritism from authority

Antonyms

1 6.7

Less liked and given fewer chances than other people

4.6

Not given help or special treatment compared to others

How Favored

favorite
  • US
712 1.0
favored
  • US
3.7
fair-haired
2 7.2
ordinary
683 1.0

Surface Forms

fair-haired positive

Morphology

fair-haired = fair + haired (opaque) = fair + hair + ed

As a compound, 'fair' + 'haired' straightforwardly describes someone having fair (light-coloured) hair.

Etymology

Fair-haired began as a plain description: fair meant 'light' or 'beautiful', so fair-haired described someone with light hair. Because light hair was often seen as special or attractive, the phrase came to mean a person treated as a 'favorite' by people in power.