eine weiße Weste haben
to have a clean record; to be beyond reproach
Origin
White stands for purity and innocence; the spotless, unstained white waistcoat is an image of a clear conscience or an unblemished past. The idiom has been current since the 19th/20th century.
Building blocks
Words in this expression
Grammar that uses this word
- Adjective declension after the definite article (nom./acc.)Adjektivdeklination nach bestimmtem Artikel (Nom./Akk.)
Examples
In hat der Beteiligten eine weiße .
In this affair none of those involved has a clean record.