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Toplay the white man is anidiom which is used in parts ofGreat Britain and it means that someone is attempting to be decent and trustworthy in their actions.[1] The phrase is commonly used[dubious –discuss] by natives of theYorkshire and the Humber region[dubious –discuss].[2]
A similar expression, which originated in theSouthern United States in the 20th century, isthat's mighty white of you and variations thereof, and they mean "thank you for being fair." Because of its racist connotations, since the mid-to-late 20th century, it has mostly been used ironically when it has been used at all.[3][4][5]
In film lore, the phrasethat's mighty white of you was used in the filmAfter the Thin Man (1936) by the characterNick Charles as said to the character Dancer, the night club host, who stated that he would pay for all the drinks at Nick's table. A year later in anotherWilliam Powell /Myrna Loy filmDouble Wedding (1937), the phrase is used by the character Mrs. Bly. It's also used in other classic-era films likeWhistling in Brooklyn (1943) by the character Wally Benton,Western Union (1941) by the character Vance Shaw, andThe Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944) by the character Constable Edmund Kockenlocker. It is also used by Clint Eastwood as Inspector Harry Callaghan in the 1976 filmThe Enforcer, and by Sean Penn's character, Mr. Wasey, in the 1986 movie,Shanghai Surprise. It is used as a typical 1937 Southern expression in the filmO Brother Where Art Thou (2000).[citation needed]
The phrase "It was damn white of him." was uttered by the character Arthur Manning, speaking to Perry Mason, in Erle Stanley Gardner's "The Case of the Dangerous Dowager."[6]
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