namby-pamby

views updated May 23 2018

nam·by-pam·by / ˈnambē ˈpambē/ • adj. derog. lacking energy, strength, or courage; feeble or effeminate in behavior or expression: these weren't namby-pamby fights, but brutal affairs where heads hit the sidewalk.• n. (pl. -bies) a feeble or effeminate person.

namby-pamby

views updated May 21 2018

namby-pamby weakly sentimental, childishly simple. XVIII. joc. redupl. formation on the name of Ambrose Philips (d. 1749), author of pastorals, which were ridiculed by H. Carey and Pope.