great white hopeとは 意味・読み方・使い方

別の表記

• white hope

語源

Coined in the early 20th century, first appearing in 1910; during a period when African-American heavyweight champion boxer Jack Johnson seemed unbeatable by a Caucasian boxer. A term that first gained prominence with James J. Jeffries' return from retirement to fight Jack Johnson in 1910. Following this, a wave of white fighters, many with no prior boxing experience, suddenly took up the sport in hopes of defeating him. In what became a racially charged search for a white boxer to reclaim the title. With many of them collectively referred to as "White Hopes."

The term was repopularized in the late-mid 1900s with the appearance of the play and film "The Great White Hope"; and its definition extended beyond boxing and Caucasians.

名詞

great white hope (plural great white hopes)

1. A highly skilled white/Caucasian challenger for leadership in a field whose top ranks are dominated by non-Caucasians; especially a field which was once dominated by white Caucasians, and is now dominated by those of black-African descent.
2. A person expected to succeed and bring prestige to their native group.
   • 1977 August 20, “7 Arrested in Undercover Raid on P'town Bar”, in Gay Community News, volume 5, number 7, page 1:

     The arrest of Christo — who three times has run unsuccessfully for selectperson in Provincetown and who has been a leading proponent of the proposal to establish a [gay] community radio station here — caused the biggest stir. Considered once by many to be Provincetown's "liberal great white hope," his political career is now in doubt.

参考

• The Great White Hope (play) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• The Great White Hope (film) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia