nice-Nelliness
English
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From nice Nelly + -ness.
Noun
[edit]- The state or quality of being a nice Nelly; prudishness or excessive modesty.
- Synonym: nice-Nellyism
- 1947, Miriam Allen deFord, “Laureate of Bohemia: George Sterlin”, in They Were San Franciscans, Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, Ltd., page 306:
- Sterling himself, though he had the most picturesque and inimitable vocabulary of vituperation, was highly squeamish about ordinary smut or profanity. He had indeed that nice-Nelliness which is often characteristic of the Don Juan type.