wussing out
Losing your nerve
Wussing out is backing down from something due to fear or lack of nerve—a failure to follow through when courage is required.
The phrase combines wuss (a weak or timid person) with the completion sense of out: He was going to ask her out but wussed out at the last minute.
The tone is mildly contemptuous, suggesting the person could have acted but chose cowardice.
- wimpTimid, feeble person
- pansyOrnamental garden flower
- scaredy catOverly timorous person
- running scaredEscaping in panic
- milksopFeeble, unassertive person
losing nerve · faintheartedness · shirking · cowardice · unreliability · flakiness · weakness · quitting · giving up · timidity · spinelessness · weak sauce · abandoning · backing down · retreating · evading · forfeiting · hesitation
wussing outstepping up
Assuming more responsibility
manning up · facing the music · biting the bullet · taking the plunge · rising to the occasion
wussing outfollowing through
Completing what was started
sticking it out · hanging tough · persevering · pushing through · standing one's ground
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