Meaning of pearl-clutcher | Babel Free

Definitions

A prim, prudish, or easily offended person.

derogatory, idiomatic

Examples

“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.”

“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.”

“It’s my reaction to the violence, however, that I have found most surprising. I have gone from somebody who doesn’t mind any level of gore to a pearl-clutcher of the highest order.”

“Eco Lifestyle adds features that The Sims’ enormous Gen Z audience had long been asking for, such as septum piercings and boho fashions that would look great down the allotment – and loads that surely nobody was asking for, including candle-making and the attractive prospect of having sex in dumpsters, thus fulfilling every older pearl-clutcher’s worst imaginings about the filthy eco-conscious young.”

CEFR level