Dictionary

grandfather clause

noun

law : a part of a law which says that the law does not apply to certain people and things because of conditions that existed before the law was passed

Full Definition of GRANDFATHER CLAUSE

:  a clause creating an exemption based on circumstances previously existing; especially :  a provision in several southern state constitutions designed to enfranchise poor whites and disenfranchise blacks by waiving high voting requirements for descendants of men voting before 1867
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First Known Use of GRANDFATHER CLAUSE

1900

Rhymes with GRANDFATHER CLAUSE

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