nice-nellyism
or nice-Nel·ly·ism
[ nahys-nel-ee-iz-uhm ]
noun
excessive modesty; prudishness.
a euphemism: an evasive style of writing, full of circumlocutions and nice-nellyisms.
Origin of nice-nellyism
1First recorded in 1935–40; nice nelly + -ism
Words Nearby nice-nellyism
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
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