clutch one's pearls

English

Etymology

From the stereotype of a woman who wears pearls and is easily offended.

Verb

clutch one's pearls (third-person singular simple present clutches one's pearls, present participle clutching one's pearls, simple past and past participle clutched one's pearls)

1. To react with consternation to someone or something that violates the usual norms.
   • 2013, Michelle Hodkin, The Evolution of Mara Dyer:

     Of course, you can't say any of this out loud, or people will clutch their pearls and call you a monster.

   • 2016, Elisabeth Staab, By the Rules:

     I can tell you I've heard some ugly shit that would make Ozzy Osbourne clutch his pearls.

   • 2016, Cynthia Dane, The Nightingale Submits:

     Nala wasn't the type to clutch her pearls and run home.

   • 2020, Sarah Bessey, Miracles and Other Reasonable Things, page 28:

     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, Mindy Mejia, Strike Me Down, page 226:

     A flashed badge wouldn't make anyone on the Strike management team clutch their pearls, except maybe Darryl, but he wasn't here.

Related terms

• pearl-clutcher
• pearl-clutchingly

 

Translations

react with consternation

• Swedish: förfasa