White as a Ghost

Also:
White as a sheet
pale as a ghost

Meaning of Idiom ‘White as a Ghost’

To be as white as a ghost means to be very pale or white in the face due to shock or illness; also used to describe a very pale skin tone due to lack of sun exposure.

Usage Notes

The idiom ‘white as a ghost’ is used to describe people that already have a pale skin complexion and to say that their complexion is even whiter.

Sentence Examples

“What’s wrong? You look as white as a ghost!”

“John was white as a ghost after the car almost ran over him.”

“You should probably go home and get some rest. You look white as a ghost.”

“Her face went as white as a ghost when the police knocked on her door.”

“Wow, I need some sun. I’m white as a ghost!”

“You should get some sun. You look as white as a sheet.”

Origin of ‘White as a Ghost’

Used since the mid-1800s. This idiom most likely comes from the association of ghosts with sheets. This association occurred because of the practice of wrapping the deceased in a burial shroud. In poorer families, a simple white sheet was used as a shroud, likely the sheet they died on. Ghost had often been depicted as skeletons still wrapped in their shroud. People later imagined the dead coming back as apparitions still shrouded in their death sheets. This led to people using sheets to dress themselves up as ghosts during Halloween and this image of a sheet-covered figure became associated with the appearance of ghosts. It is possible that ‘white as a sheet’ occurred first.