great white hope
Expected unlikely rescuer
Great white hope originally referred to a white boxer sought to defeat Black heavyweight champion Jack Johnson in the early 1900s—a term steeped in the racism of that era.
The phrase now applies more broadly to any person expected to achieve great success or restore former glory: The rookie quarterback was the team's great white hope.
The racial element persists in some uses but has faded in others, where it simply means a much-anticipated savior figure.
Highest combat weight class
- contenderOne competing seriously
- championTop competitor, or advocate
- title fightMatch for supremacy
- knockoutIncapacitating final blow
Jack Johnson · prizefighter · ring · bout · pugilist · promoter · main event · undercard
Prophesied liberator figure
- redeemerOne who saves another
- delivererOne who brings goods
- liberatorOne who frees others
- rescuerOne who saves others
champion · hero · chosen one · anointed · protector · defender · golden child · wunderkind
State of awaiting something
- prospectPotential client or opportunity
- promiseCommitment to act
- potentialLatent capacity for development
- aspirationStrong desire for achievement
longing · yearning · prediction · outlook · possibility · hype · pressure · burden
Racial separation laws
- segregationForced separation by group
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
- ethnocentrismBelief one's culture superior
heavyweight
Highest combat weight class
- contenderOne competing seriously
- championTop competitor, or advocate
- title fightMatch for supremacy
knockout · Jack Johnson · prizefighter · ring · bout · pugilist · promoter · main event · undercard · rounds
messiah
Prophesied liberator figure
rescuer · champion · hero · chosen one · anointed · protector · defender · golden child · wunderkind · prodigy
anticipation
State of awaiting something
- prospectPotential client or opportunity
- promiseCommitment to act
- potentialLatent capacity for development
aspiration · longing · yearning · prediction · outlook · possibility · hype · pressure · burden · spotlight
Jim Crow
Racial separation laws
- segregationForced separation by group
- racismPrejudice based on ethnicity
- colonialismDomination through foreign settlement
ethnocentrism · apartheid · nativism · manifest destiny · xenophobia
great white hopelost cause
Endeavor certain to fail
hopeless case · dead end · no-hoper · sure thing · failure
great white hopedisappointment
Sadness from unmet expectations
bust · false hope · flash in the pan · washout · letdown
great, greater, greatest, greatly, greatness, white, whiter, whitest, whiten