clutch one's pearls en · VERB
Etymology
From the stereotype of a woman who wears pearls and is easily offended.
Meanings
-
To react with consternation to someone or something that violates the usual norms.
She had conceived of this gathering as an antidote to the typical women's retreats—she wanted to create a space for the women who feel like they don't quite fit into the Good Christian Lady story, the women who make other women clutch their pearls, the women who feel like zebras in a pasture filled with horses.
2020, Sarah Bessey, Miracles and Other Reasonable Things, page 28:A flashed badge wouldn't make anyone on the Strike management team clutch their pearls, except maybe Darryl, but he wasn't here.
2020, Mindy Mejia, Strike Me Down, page 226:Nala wasn't the type to clutch her pearls and run home.
2016, Cynthia Dane, The Nightingale Submits:Of course, you can't say any of this out loud, or people will clutch their pearls and call you a monster.
2013, Michelle Hodkin, The Evolution of Mara Dyer:I can tell you I've heard some ugly shit that would make Ozzy Osbourne clutch his pearls.
2016, Elisabeth Staab, By the Rules:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| clutched one's pearls | Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic | |
| clutched one's pearls | Tense=Past | lexicographic | |
| clutches one's pearls | Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres | lexicographic | |
| clutching one's pearls | Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part | lexicographic |
Relateds
pearl-clutcher · pearl-clutchingly
Translations (1)
sv förfasa (react with consternation)