fair sex

or fairer sex


noun Older Use: Sometimes Offensive.

women as a group (usually used facetiously): an insult to the fair sex.

Origin of fair sex

First recorded in 1680–90

usage note for fair sex

This is a dated term, usually used for humorous effect. It uses the word fair in the sense of “physically attractive”; because it refers to a woman in terms of her appearance, it is sometimes perceived as demeaning.

Example sentences from the Web for fair sex

  • I will not meddle with the Spectator, let him fair-sex it to the world's end.

    The Journal to Stella |Jonathan Swift

British Dictionary definitions for fair sex

fair sex

noun

the fair sex women collectively

Idioms and Phrases with fair sex

fair sex

Girls or women, as in Many women would object to being called the fair sex nowadays. This euphemism uses fair in the sense of “physically beautiful” and is probably dying out. [Mid-1600s]