pearl-clutching

Or pearl clutch·ing

[purl kluhch-ing]

noun

1. outrage or dramatic protest, especially from a woman, caused by something the person perceives as vulgar, in bad taste, or morally wrong but that does not elicit a similarly strong reaction from most other people.

   pearl-clutching over sexual jokes; so much fake pearl-clutching by the candidates.

adjective

1. noting or relating to someone, especially a woman, who is easily offended or shocked by things the person perceives as vulgar, in bad taste, or morally wrong.

   pearl-clutching gasps from the audience; pearl-clutching conservatives.

Other Word Forms

• pearl-clutch verb (used without object)
• pearl-clutcher noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pearl-clutching¹

First recorded in 2000–05; pearl ( def. ), clutch ¹ ( def. ), -ing ¹ ( def. ), -ing ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

As she grabs the mic on a glitzy stage wearing a golden gown to talk about her fluid retention, pearl-clutching strip club antics and watching her husband Chuck Morgan get arrested by highway patrol, her unvarnished style of storytelling shows us why she’s resonating with much of America.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Vice President JD Vance dismissed the Republican text scandal as “stupid jokes” and “kids saying edgy things,” and called the outrage “pearl-clutching,” before attempting to draw a moral equivalence rather than take responsibility.

Read more on Salon

“Pardon me if I’m not paying too much attention to the pearl-clutching of the outrage of my critics and of the people, predominantly on the left, who are going to go out there and try to make a big deal out of something like this,” he said.

Read more on Salon

The market freak-outs accompanying political developments make little sense, and so does the anxious pearl-clutching by European policymakers elsewhere about the prospect that France may be descending into an irremediable jam.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

To some gamblers, the religious opposition may seem patronizing and overbearing, a bunch of pearl-clutching from hypocrites who demand, for themselves, personal liberty to spend their money as they please.

Read more on Slate