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nice nelly

1 American  
[nel-ee] / ˈnɛl i /
Or nice Nelly

noun

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

    too much of a nice nelly to have any fun.

  2. nice-nellyism.

nice-nelly 2 American  
[nahys-nel-ee] / ˈnaɪsˈnɛl i /
Or nice-Nelly

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.

Etymology

Origin of nice-nelly

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.