namby-pamby

nam·by-pam·by

N0007500 (năm′bē-păm′bē)adj.1. Weak, sentimental, or unrealistic: "life as it was really lived, you know, not as described in namby-pamby self-help books" (Megan Hustad).2. Lacking vigor or decisiveness; weak or spineless: accused by conservatives of being a namby-pamby liberal.n. pl. nam·by-pam·bies One that is weak, sentimental, or indecisive.

[After Namby-Pamby, , a satire on the poetry of Ambrose Philips (1674-1749) by Henry Carey (1687?-1743).]Word History: Today, the 18th-century poet Ambrose Philips is more well-known for sharp satirical attacks leveled against him by his contemporaries Henry Carey and Alexander Pope than for any lines of poetry that he ever wrote himself. In lampooning some overly precious verse on the subject of children that Philips had composed, Carey called Philips by the nickname Namby Pamby: "So the Nurses get by Heart Namby Pamby's Little Rhimes." The first part of Namby Pamby came from Amby, or Ambrose. Pamby was made to rhyme with Namby by using the initial of Philips's surname. Pope then used the name in the 1729 edition of his satirical epic The Dunciad. After being popularized by Pope, namby-pamby went on to be used generally for people or things that are sentimental or weak.

namby-pamby

(ˌnæmbɪˈpæmbɪ) adj1. sentimental or prim in a weak insipid way: namby-pamby manners. 2. clinging, feeble, or spineless: a namby-pamby child. n, pl -biesa person who is namby-pamby[C18: a nickname of Ambrose Phillips (died 1749), whose pastoral verse was ridiculed for being insipid]

nam•by-pam•by

(ˈnæm biˈpæm bi)

adj., n., pl. -bies. adj. 1. lacking decisiveness; irresolute: namby-pamby opinions. 2. weakly sentimental; insipid: namby-pamby poetry. n. 3. a namby-pamby person or thing. [1726; rhyming compound based on the first syllable of Ambrose Philips; first used as a nickname for Philips in the title of a poem by Henry Carey (1687?–1743) ridiculing his verse]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	namby-pamby - an insipid weakling who is foolishly sentimentaldoormat, weakling, wuss - a person who is physically weak and ineffectual
Adj.	1.	namby-pamby - weak in willpower, courage or vitalityspineless, wishy-washy, gutlessweak - wanting in physical strength; "a weak pillar"

namby-pamby

adjective feeble, weak, wet, sentimental, mincing, ineffectual, prim, weedy (informal), colourless, effeminate, anaemic, insipid, simpering, spineless, effete, prissy (informal), wishy-washy (informal), vapid, mawkish, wussy (slang), wimpish or wimpy (informal) I despise his wimpy, namby-pamby attitude.

namby-pamby

adjectiveLacking the qualities requisite for spiritedness and originality:bland, innocuous, insipid, jejune, vapid, washy, waterish, watery.Informal: wishy-washy.

Translations

namby-pamby

1. Overly sentimental, maudlin, or effeminate. Said almost exclusively of a man. You say you don't want some aggressive alpha male, but then you dismiss more sensitive, intellectual guys as being too namby-pamby—make up your mind! My father always looked down on the guys I dated in college as "namby-pamby boys" because they were usually pretty soft-spoken and didn't play any sports.2. Weak, ineffectual, or spineless; lacking determination, vigor, and decisiveness. His election to office has lauded by his supporters as a rejection of the namby-pamby politics of his predecessor. We can't be namby-pamby about how to operate the business—if we're going to survive, we have to make tough choices right away.

namby-pamby

(ˈnæmbiˈpæmbi) mod. overly nice; effeminate and weak, when said of a male. Fred is too namby-pamby when it comes to making up his mind.

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Synonyms for namby-pamby

adj feeble

Synonyms

Synonyms for namby-pamby

adj lacking the qualities requisite for spiritedness and originality

Synonyms

Synonyms for namby-pamby

noun an insipid weakling who is foolishly sentimental

Related Words

adj weak in willpower, courage or vitality

Synonyms

Related Words