shrinking violet

English

WOTD – 5 December 2018

Etymology

Possibly from the inconspicuous nature of the violet (genus Viola) flower and plant.[1] The term appears to have been first used in the literal sense in the early 19th century.[2][3]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɹɪŋkɪŋ ˈvaɪələt/, /ˈʃɹɪŋkɪŋ ˈvaɪlət/, /-lɪt/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈʃɹɪŋkɪŋ ˈvaɪələt/, /ˈʃɹɪŋkɪŋ ˈvaɪlət/
Audio (AU) (file)
Hyphenation: shrink‧ing vio‧let

Noun

shrinking violet (plural shrinking violets)

(idiomatic) A very shy or timid person, who avoids contact with others if possible. [from early 19th c.]
June, no shrinking violet she, crossed the room and introduced herself to the newcomers.
- 1965, “So Long Mom (A Song for World War III)”, in That Was the Year That Was, performed by Tom Lehrer, side 2, track 1:
  Little Johnny Jones, he was a US pilot / And no shrinking violet was he / He was mighty proud when World War III was declared / He wasn't scared, no siree!

Usage notes

Often in the negative form no shrinking violet.

Synonyms

See Thesaurus:shy person

Translations

very shy person

Greek: χαμηλοβλεπούσα (el) f (chamilovlepoúsa)
Macedonian: срамежливец m (sramežlivec)
Polish: trusia (pl) m or f

References

Michael Quinion (25 September 2010), “Shrinking violet”, in World Wide Words.
Leigh Hunt (23 February 1820), “Ronald of the Perfect Hand”, in The Indicator, issue XX, London: Joseph Appleyard, OCLC 561227160, page 158:
The sun looked out with a melancholy smile upon the moss and the poor grass, chequered here and there with flowers almost as poor. There was the buttercup, struggling from a dirty white into a yellow; and a faint-coloured poppy, neither the good nor the ill of which was then known; and here and there by the thorny underwood a shrinking violet.
[James Gates Percival] (1 November 1825), “The Perpetual Youth of Nature. A Soliloquy.”, in The United States Literary Gazette, volume III, issue 3, Boston, Mass.: Harrison Gray, published 1826, OCLC 648386174, page 109: “The wind is very low— / It hardly wags the shrinking violet, / Or sends a quiver to the aspen leaf, […]”