View synonyms for nervous Nellie

nervous Nellie

noun

, Informal.

a constantly nervous, worried, or timid person.

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Word History and Origins

Origin of nervous Nellie¹

First recorded in 1925–30

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Idioms and Phrases

An unduly timid or anxious person, as in He's a real nervous Nellie, calling the doctor about every little symptom . This term does not allude to a particular person named Nellie; rather, the name was probably chosen for the sake of alliteration. [ Colloquial ; c. 1920]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

nervous exhaustion nervousness

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