nice-nellyism

or nice-Nel·ly·ism

[ nahys-nel-ee-iz-uh m ]

/ ˈnaɪsˈnɛl iˌɪz əm /

noun

excessive modesty; prudishness.

a euphemism: an evasive style of writing, full of circumlocutions and nice-nellyisms.

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Nearby words

nice, nice guys finish last, nice nelly, nice-looking, nice-nelly, nice-nellyism, nicely, nicene, nicene council, nicene creed, niceness

Origin of nice-nellyism

First recorded in 1935–40; nice nelly + -ism

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019