nice nelly

or nice Nelly

[ 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.

Words Nearby nice nelly

Other definitions for nice-nelly (2 of 2)

nice-nelly

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.

Origin of nice-nelly

2
An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024