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nice nelly

1
or nice Nelly

[ nel-ee ]

noun

  1. a person who professes or exhibits excessive modesty, prudishness, or the like:

    too much of a nice nelly to have any fun.



nice-nelly

2
or nice-Nel·ly

[ nahys-nel-ee ]

adjective

  1. characterized by prudishness or excessive modesty:

    The entrance of his nice-nelly friend stopped the flow of risqué stories.

  2. being a euphemism; euphemistic:

    nice-nelly expressions.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of nice nelly1

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

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Nicene Creednice-nellyism