scaredy-cat

See also: scaredy cat

English

Alternative forms

• scaredy cat

Etymology

From scared +‎ -y +‎ cat.

Pronunciation

• Audio (US):

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Noun

scaredy-cat (plural scaredy-cats)

1. (endearing) A coward; a person who is easily frightened or high-strung and easily scared.

   Synonyms: fraidy cat, scaredy pants; see also Thesaurus:coward

   • 1918, Florence Kiper Frank, “The Child and the Little Sister”, in The Midland, volume 4, page 61:

     I don't care — I wouldn't be such a scaredy-cat for anything.

   • 1933, Dorothy Parker, The Waltz:

     Oh, yes, do let's dance together—it's so nice to meet a man who isn't a scaredy-cat about catching my beri-beri.

Translations

a coward; a person who is easily frightened or high-strung and easily scared

• Finnish: pelkuri (fi)
• German: Angsthase (de) m
• Hungarian: gyáva nyúl, gyáva kukac
• Macedonian: ко́ркач m (kórkač), пла́шливец m (plášlivec), стра́шливец m (strášlivec), др́сло n (dŕslo)
• Maori: toupiore
• Norwegian: reddhare m