Are you a Nervous Nellie? Or perhaps you’re a Negative Nellie. Has anyone ever said to you, “Not on your Nelly?” What do these idioms mean?
Negative Nelly
A Negative Nelly is someone who is always pessimistic or critical. They are great at bringing down the mood of those around them or putting them in a bleak mood.
Not On Your Nelly
While watching Taggart, season 7 episode 3, last night, DS Jardine uttered the idiom, “Not on your Nelly.” If I hadn’t been working on this article, would I have noticed it? I probably would have and looked it up to see what it meant, but since I was working on this article, it jumped out at me and really got my attention. Not on your Nelly is a British idiom. It means no chance at all, definitely not.
Whoa, Nellie & Nervous Nellie
At the turn of the 20th century, farmers would have several horses. And usually, at least one of these horses would be called Nellie. When he would yell for the horse to stop, he would yell out or say, “Whoa, Nellie!” But I highly doubt the horse was nervous, so what about Nervous Nellie?
Who was Nellie, and why was she so nervous? Was there really a Nellie who was so nervous that this idiom was named after? It was created because of a certain individual, but this person’s name wasn’t Nellie.
Turns out, the Nellie of Nervous Nellie was Frank B. Kellogg, a U.S. senator who won the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize. Apparently, Frank was one really nervous individual, who was overly emotional and indecisive. He was so nervous that he was actually called Nervous Nellie. Can you imagine being that nervous?
There below idioms can be used instead of Nervous Nellie to convey the same idea.
Worrywart – A worrywart, a person who worries about everything, is talked about in the article “Grumbletonian & Other Words to Describe People.”
Scaredy-cat – A scaredy-cat is a coward or someone who is easily frightened.
Chicken Little – A Chicken Little is a person who warns of or predicts disaster, often without justification.
Fretful Freddy – A Fretful Freddy would be a person who frets about anything and everything.
Timid Tim – A Timid Tim would be a scaredy-cat.
Jittery Joe/Jane – A Jittery Joe/Jane would be someone who is extremely nervous and tense; someone who is jumpy.
Anxious Annie – Anxious Annie is a book by Cali Werner. Here is the book description copied from Amazon: Running races was Annie’s favorite pastime until her anxiety got the best of her. Annie’s fear and anxiety began taking away the joy for the sport she once loved. Annie’s number one goal was to make everyone proud by winning a gold medal. Will that goal motivate Annie, or will the pressure she puts on herself become too much?
Based on a true story, Annie’s inspiring and relatable journey of competing in her sport might not be the only race she tries to win. Annie learns how to face her fears and anxiety head-on, but will that be enough to win the ultimate race?
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