nice-Nellyism
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See also: nice-nellyism
English[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Etymology[edit]
nice Nelly + -ism
Noun[edit]
nice-Nellyism (countable and uncountable, plural nice-Nellyisms)
- (usually uncountable) Prudishness or excessive modesty.
- (countable) A euphemism; an act or expression of prudishness or excessive modesty.
- 1976, Kurt Vonnegut, Slapstick, Delacorte Press, Prologue, p. 8:
- He was a co-founder of the Indianapolis Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. ¶ His obituary in the Indianapolis Star said that he himself was not an alcoholic. ¶ This denial was at least partly a nice-Nellyism from the past, I think.