niminy-piminy

[ nim-uh-nee-pim-uh-nee ]

adjective
  1. affectedly delicate or refined; mincing; effeminate: A niminy-piminy shyness makes frankness impossible.

Origin of niminy-piminy

1
1795–1805; rhyming compound; cf. namby-pamby

Other words from niminy-piminy

  • nim·i·ny-pim·i·ni·ness, noun
  • nim·i·ny-pim·i·ny·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for niminy-piminy

niminy-piminy

/ (ˈnɪmɪnɪˈpɪmɪnɪ) /


adjective
  1. excessively refined; prim

Origin of niminy-piminy

1
C19: imitative of a prim affected enunciation

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012