chickenshit

Chickenshit describes petty cowardice or excessive timidity, often applied to people who avoid minor risks or confrontations: He was too chickenshit to ask for a raise.

As a noun, chickenshit refers to trivial rules or bureaucratic harassment—the kind of pointless authority that makes life annoying: The new manager's obsession with dress code was pure chickenshit.

The word is vulgar but milder than some compounds with shit.