nice-nellyism

Or nice-Nel·ly·ism

[nahys-nel-ee-iz-uhm]

noun

1. excessive modesty; prudishness.

2. a euphemism.

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of nice-nellyism¹

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

Example Sentences

In fact, gobbledygook and nice-Nellyism still extend as far as the ear can hear.

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Partridge clears Charles Dickens of all responsibility for the expression "go to the dickens," a Victorian nice-nellyism for "go to the devil."

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Timmons insists that the expletive the reporters thought they heard was merely a nice-Nellyism from his Nebraska days: "Helen Maria!"

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Within two months of this Nice-Nellyism, the song's sale rose to 50,000 copies.

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