nice-nellyism
Americannoun
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excessive modesty; prudishness.
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a euphemism.
an evasive style of writing, full of circumlocutions and nice-nellyisms.
Etymology
Origin of nice-nellyism
First recorded in 1935–40; nice nelly + -ism
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In fact, gobbledygook and nice-Nellyism still extend as far as the ear can hear.
From Time Magazine Archive
Partridge clears Charles Dickens of all responsibility for the expression "go to the dickens," a Victorian nice-nellyism for "go to the devil."
From Time Magazine Archive
Timmons insists that the expletive the reporters thought they heard was merely a nice-Nellyism from his Nebraska days: "Helen Maria!"
From Time Magazine Archive
Within two months of this Nice-Nellyism, the song's sale rose to 50,000 copies.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
