pearl-clutching

American  

[purl kluhch-ing] / ˈpɜrl ˌklʌtʃ ɪŋ /

Or pearl clutching

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.

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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

Etymology

Origin of pearl-clutching

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.

From Los Angeles Times

The attitude is in keeping, though, with Swift’s latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” particularly in a song like “But Daddy I Love Him,” in which she appears to be mocking the pearl-clutching contingent of her fan base that disapproved of her rumored pre-Kelce relationship with Matty Healy of the 1975 because of offensive jokes he’d made.

From Los Angeles Times

NBC was also able to integrate entertainment figures into its Olympics coverage without generating a lot of pearl-clutching from sports purists.

From Los Angeles Times

Here’s the story from whence this pearl-clutching about Harris stems: For roughly one year in the mid-1990s when she was 29 years old, Harris dated 60-year-old San Francisco politician Willie Brown, who was technically married but had been separated from his wife since the early ’80s.

From Slate

Only to shame you pearl-clutching adult babies who are shocked—shocked!—that students aren’t always intellectually and emotionally consistent!

From Slate