steel magnolia
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English
Etymology
Noun
steel magnolia (plural steel magnolias)
- (chiefly Southern US) A woman, unashamed, who exemplifies both traditional femininity and an uncommon fortitude.
- 1998, John Berendt (introduction), The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook[1], Random House, Inc., →ISBN, page xv:
- Ms. Deen is an irresistible example of that extraordinary phenomenon of Southern womanhood, the steel magnolia. She is always appealing and gracious but possessed of an unfailing survival instinct — a necessary character trait for a Southern cook to make it.