pearl-clutching

adj

Etymology: From the image of a genteel woman clutching her pearl necklace in shock.

1. Prim, prudish, or easily offended.

   “When John Kerry “outed” Mary Cheney in a 2004 presidential debate, it was already well known that Mary Cheney was a lesbian. You can't out the already out, no matter what pearl-clutching pundits would have you believe.”

   “Even the biggest doe-eyed, pearl-clutching Etsy muffin has to find some way to make it okay to be negative, because we have no choice.”