pearl-clutcher

Noun

pearl-clutcher (plural pearl-clutchers)

1. (derogatory, idiomatic) A prim, prudish, or easily offended person.
   • It’s a dynamic that goes back to the rude, rule-breaking Groucho Marx—destroyer of élites!—and Margaret Dumont, pop culture’s primal pearl-clutcher.2017 January 16, Emily Nussbaum, “How Jokes Won the 2016 Election”, in The New Yorker, archived from the original on 12 Jul 2018, retrieved 24 Aug 2021
   • The intended message of the pearls wasn’t entirely clear, though one interpretation was that the lawmakers were trying to paint members of the group as “pearl clutchers” — suggesting that they were being overly sensitive.2019 March 6, Kate Taylor, “How the Meaning of a String of Pearls Upstaged a Gun Control Debate”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 17 Apr 2023