A way to exempt some people from a zoning or legal change because of conditions that existed before the change (e.g., existing properties would be grandfathered in or older buildings are exempt under a grandfather clause.) The term grandfather clause originated in the American South in the late 1800s as a way to enfranchise poor White people and disenfranchise Black people by waiving high voting requirements for descendants of men who had voted before 1867. Because of this history, use with caution. A good alternative might be legacy as in We will legacy you in.
