How to Use grandfather clause in a Sentence

grandfather clause

noun
  • Because of a grandfather clause, the strict emission standards only apply to new cars.
  • And guns purchased before the ban were protected by a grandfather clause.
    — Lauren Hernández, San Francisco Chronicle, 4 June 2021
  • There will be fudges and grandfather clauses to reach a full 26, but nothing had to be done with the top performers.
    — Grant Brisbee, New York Times, 2 July 2026
  • This bill includes a grandfather clause for those whose historic registration was turned in as a result of last year’s change.
    — Steve Johnson, Baltimore Sun, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The law includes a grandfather clause that exempts employees already in their positions from the ban.
    — Washington Post, 20 Apr. 2021
  • Another bill filed in the state House would remove both the expiration date and the grandfather clause.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
  • Bottles printed without a label will still be sold under the bill through a grandfather clause until the inventory is sold off.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 28 Nov. 2022
  • Several states instituted a grandfather clause as a loophole for white men who could not afford the poll tax or pass a literacy test.
    — Javonte Anderson, USA TODAY, 5 Mar. 2021
  • Some have pointed out that the rule change could include a grandfather clause, meaning that justices confirmed before the passage of the bill would not be subject to the term limit.
    — Aron Ravin, National Review, 14 June 2021
  • The proposal includes a grandfather clause for any company that already holds eight or nine all-alcohol licenses.
    — Sahar Fatima, BostonGlobe.com, 31 Oct. 2022
  • The grandfather clause that allows Ohio residents to continue existing treatments doesn’t extend to those from out of state.
    — Anumita Kaur, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2024
  • The legislation has a grandfather clause that allows minors who are already on medication to continue to receive care.
    — Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 28 Dec. 2023
  • But Ricketts said the Kentucky bill's language is vague enough to raise questions even about the grandfather clause that protects existing solar customers.
    — James Bruggers, The Courier-Journal, 24 Jan. 2018
  • The grandfather clause and the expiration date in the gender-affirming care ban were viewed as concessions to Democrats, who had spent hours filibustering against the bill.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Mar. 2024
  • The city has said that compliance with current codes wasn’t required because of a grandfather clause in the city’s building code that would apply to the former Park Savoy Hotel.
    — Tyler Blint-Welsh, WSJ, 12 June 2019
  • The law includes exceptions for such care for non-transgender youth, and also includes a grandfather clause that allows transgender people already receiving care to continue doing so.
    — Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 26 Mar. 2024
  • With some exceptions at the state and local level, nearly all policy proposals to restrict certain types of guns include a grandfather clause that allows people to keep existing firearms and accessories.
    — Benjy Sarlin, NBC News, 12 Mar. 2018
  • Many of the devices employed during segregation, such as poll taxes, grandfather clauses, and literacy tests, were superficially race-neutral.
    — Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 27 June 2026
  • But a grandfather clause in the legislation allowed sitting officeholders to still tap the contents of their political war chests at the time the legislation was signed for everything from mortgages to college tuition.
    — John Byrne, chicagotribune.com, 8 Jan. 2022
  • Within the bill is a grandfather clause granting cities with current contracts to continue utilizing red light cameras until the contract is over, unless the contract includes a clause allowing for early cancellation.
    — Chevall Pryce, Houston Chronicle, 6 June 2019
  • The new rules, which were approved quickly and unanimously by the City Council late last year, do not include a grandfather clause — a provision that would apply to Aguirre and other current operators.
    — Jim Buchta, Star Tribune, 21 Jan. 2021
  • The situation has been debated in the public eye in the past month, with some property owners decrying the grandfather clause, and others saying the new rules, particularly the parking requirement, are too restrictive.
    — Steve Lord, Aurora Beacon-News, 27 June 2018
  • Similarly, Rouse said any new construction would trigger building code requirements in other parts of the restaurant, upgrades that Bill’s Pizza is current exempt from due to grandfather clauses.
    — Rick Kambic, chicagotribune.com, 23 Apr. 2018
  • Starting in the 1890s, Southern states advanced measures to disfranchise blacks, including literacy tests, poll taxes and grandfather clauses.
    — Frank Scaturro, WSJ, 2 Feb. 2020
  • Canada eventually passed a bill in 2019 ending the captivity of whales and dolphins, however, Marineland was able to keep Kiska due to a grandfather clause that granted the park an exemption, per the Post.
    — Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 11 Mar. 2023
  • By the turn of the century, Southern states were using poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses to deny Black men the right to vote, which the 15th Amendment had guaranteed them since 1870.
    — Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 25 June 2020
  • In the aftermath of Reconstruction, white-supremacist Democrats imposed superficially race-neutral requirements such as poll taxes, literacy tests, and grandfather clauses.
    — Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 5 June 2026
  • The grandfather clause effectively excluded them from voting -- a practice that continued until the 1960s, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
    — Scottie Andrew and Harmeet Kaur, CNN, 6 July 2020

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'grandfather clause.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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