(as) white as a sheet
Extremely and unnaturally pale, as owing to fear or illness. His face went as white as a sheet when he saw the burglar in his house. Do you feel all right? Your face is white as a sheet! Our father, his face white as a sheet, put the phone down and told us he'd lost his job.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
*white as a sheet
and *white as a ghost; *white as snow; *white as the driven snow[of someone] extremely pale, as if frightened. (*Also: as ~.) Marilyn turned as white as a sheet when the policeman told her that her son had been in a car wreck. Did something scare you? You're white as a sheet! Jane made up the bed with her best linen sheets, which are always as white as snow. We have a new kitten whose fur is white as the driven snow.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
white as a sheet
Very pale in the face, as in She was white as a sheet after that near encounter. This simile, dating from about 1600, survives despite the fact that bedsheets now come in all colors.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
white as a sheet
or white as a ghost
If someone looks as white as a sheet or as white as a ghost, they look very pale because they are frightened, shocked or ill. When I saw him his face was as white as a sheet and he was crying. She was as white as a ghost and trembling all over.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
(as) ˌwhite as a ˈsheet/ˈghost
(informal) very pale in the face, because of illness, fear or shock: She went as white as a sheet when she heard the news.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
white as a sheet
Pale in the face. This simile dates from Shakespeare’s time; he wrote, “And whiter than the sheets!” in Cymbeline (2.2). The term was repeated by Henry Fielding, Frederick Marryat, Artemus Ward, and Thomas Hardy, among many others, and remains current.
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer Copyright © 2013 by Christine Ammer