nervous Nellies
Excessively anxious people
Nervous Nellies are people who worry excessively or are easily frightened.
The phrase is mildly dismissive, suggesting the anxiety is overblown: The nervous Nellies predicted disaster, but the project went fine.
Sometimes singular: Don't be such a nervous Nellie.
The name Nellie, like other female names in such expressions, carries dated gender associations.
- apprehensiveFearful of future events
- anxiousTroubled by uncertainty
- jitteryAnxiously restless
- worry wartsHabitual anxious people
- worrywartsChronic anxiety-prone people
chicken · fraidy cat · uneasy · tense · on edge · edgy · catastrophizing · fretful · panicky · white knuckle · timid · restless · skittish · milquetoasts · high-strung · hand-wringing · cold feet · cautious
nervous Nelliessteady Eddies
Consistently dependable individuals
calm and collected · ice queens · unflappable · level-headed · stoics
nervous Nelliesdaredevils
Those who seek thrills recklessly
adrenaline junkies · thrill seekers · thrill-seekers · adventurers · swashbucklers
nervous, Nellie, nerve, nerves, nerved, nerving, nervousness, nervously, nervy