[nel-ee] 
| 1. | a person who professes or exhibits excessive modesty, prudishness, or the like: too much of a nice nelly to have any fun. |
| 2. | nice-nellyism (def. 2). |
[nahys-nel-ee] | 1. | characterized by prudishness or excessive modesty: The entrance of his nice-nelly friend stopped the flow of risqué stories. |
| 2. | being a euphemism; euphemistic: nice-nelly expressions. |
| nice-nel·ly (nīs'něl'ē) adj.
[From the name Nelly, nickname for Helen.] nice'-nel'ly·ism n. |