nelly
/ˈnɛli
/(also nellie)
noun (plural nellies) informal
1A silly person.The inability of these nervous nellies to hold their peace for a couple of months and save their moaning for the appropriate ALP forum is seriously hampering the ALP's chances of victory on November 10....
- Is it any wonder that he gets impatient with the nervous nellies from the old nations who think they have a bit more experience with wars designed to bring peace to the world, and are reluctant to jump into yet another one.
- We're raising a generation of nervous nellies.
2 offensive An effeminate homosexual man.Straight Eye for the Queer Guy - five ‘real men’ teach a nelly how to play Sports....
- Are we all supposed to be limp-wristed nellies?
Phrases
not on your nelly
Origin
1930s: from the given name Nelly.
The expression not on your nelly was originally used in the form not on your Nelly Duff. In the 19th century Nelly Duff was rhyming slang for ‘puff’ (meaning ‘breath of life’), and so the phrase is roughly equivalent to not on your life. Nobody now knows who Nelly was, if indeed she was ever a real person.
Rhymes
- indult
- indumentum
- induna
- in duplicate
- Indurain, Miguel
- indurate
- induration
- indurative
- Indus
- indus.
- indusium
- industrial
- industrial accident
- industrial action
- industrial age
- industrial alcohol
- industrial archaeologist
- industrial archaeology
- industrial art
- industrial artist
- industrial arts
- industrial assurance
- industrial average
- industrial base
- industrial chic