Literal Translation
To show white paw
Actual Meaning
To show permission to enter somewhere
Etymology
It was Jean de La Fontaine who popularised the expression in The Wolf, the Goat and the Kid: the ‘white paw’ is the one that the kid, left alone at home, asks the wolf to show him. For the wolf has a grey or black paw, unlike the kid’s mother. ‘Montrer patte blanche’ therefore means to give a sign of recognition that allows one to enter a place.