HyperDic: grandfather_clause

English > 1 sense of the expression *grandfather clause*:
NOUN	state	grandfather clause	an exemption based on circumstances existing prior to the adoption of some policy

English > *grandfather clause*: 1 sense > noun 1, state
Meaning	An exemption based on circumstances existing prior to the adoption of some policy; used to enfranchise illiterate whites in south after the American Civil War.
Broader	exemption, freedom	immunity from an obligation or duty