Pure as the driven snow

Pure as the driven snow is an idiom dates to the 1800s, but has much older roots. We will examine the meaning of the common idiom pure as the driven snow, where it came from, and some examples of its idiomatic usage in sentences.

Pure as the driven snow is an idiom that describes someone or something that is innocent, above reproach, or uncontaminated. For instance, a young, uncorrupted person may be said to be as pure as the driven snow. The expression pure as the driven snow is a simile, which is a phrase used in a sentence that is a comparison of one thing with something else using the word like or the word as. The phrase pure as the driven snow came into use around the turn of the nineteenth century, though it is most probably derived from Shakespeare. In The Winter’s Tale, Autolycus says: “Lawn as white as driven snow.” In Hamlet, the title character says: “…be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow…” Driven snow is snow that has been blown in a storm into drifts and has not been walked upon.

Examples

They apparently think this has the effect of making them look as pure as the driven snow. (California Globe)

Besides, is there anyone in politics generally, and in the ruling coalition in Maharashtra in particular, who can claim to be pure as the driven snow? (Free Press Journal)

“So my point was, why should we just automatically assume that in every other area that the pharmaceutical companies are pure as the driven snow?” she says. (San Antonio Current)