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Timidity

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Timidity

See also Cowardice.
Alden, John
(c. 1599–1687) too timid to ask for Priscilla’s hand in marriage. [Am. Lit.: “The Courtship of Miles Standish” in Benét, 230]
Bergson, Emil
could only express love for Marie in secret thoughts. [Am. Lit.: 0 Pioneers!, Magill I, 663–665]
Blushington, Edward
upon taking marriage vows, he needs wine to say “I do.” [Br. Lit.: The Bashful Man, Walsh Modern, 62–63]
Cowardly Lion
timid king of beasts. [Am. Lit.: The Wonderful Wizard of Oz]
Crane, Ichabod
timorous schoolteacher. [Am. Lit.: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow]
cyclamen
traditional symbol of timidity. [Flower Symbolism: Jobes, 400]
Florimel
feared “the smallest monstrous mouse that creeps on floor.” [Br. Lit.: Faerie Queene]
Kent, Clark
mild-mannered reporter whose dynamic alter ego is Superman. [Comics: Berger, 146]
Little Dorrit
withdrawn, self-effacing seamstress. [Br. Lit.: Little Dorrit]
Little Miss Muffet
frightened away by a spider. [Nurs. Rhyme: Opie, 323]
Milquetoast, Casper
the timid soul; easily controlled by others. [Comics: The Timid Soul, Espy, 141]
Mitty, Walter
timid, henpecked husband. [Am. Lit.: Payton, 448]
Peepers, Mr
. shy character in TV series. [TV: Terrace, II, 118–119]
peony
symbol of shyness and timidity. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 176]
Piglet
diffident little pig; tremulously courageous. [Children’s Lit.: Winnie-the-Pooh]
Prufrock, J. Alfred
indecisive man, too shy and evasive to make a proposal. [Br. Poetry: T. S. Eliot “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”]
rush
indicates docility and diffidence. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 177]
Wingfield, Laura
crippled girl so shy that she has withdrawn into her own confined world. [Am. Drama: Williams The Glass Menagerie in Benét, 400]
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
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References in periodicals archive
Here's what all this means: Our sin tends to be timidity, not rashness.
How the modern world made cowards of us all
The IPSS provides a total interpersonal sensitivity score and five subscale scores (interpersonal awareness, need for approval, separation anxiety, timidity, and fragile inner-self).
Interpersonal sensitivity of clinical nurses and related factors/Klinik hemsirelerinin kisiler arasi duyarliliklari ile iliskili faktorler
Timidity is a killer and it is something I have learnt to overcome whenever I am confronted with a big decision."
Doctorate for Sir Patrick ... at Norwich
I am not a politician nor can I pretend to know how politicking works, but it would seem that the same political timidity must have cost us dearly in the World Cup bid process.
It's time to stand up to the dictator Blatter
He always retained a burning frustration at the widespread compliance fostered by a mix of administrative incentives and threats; in his teaching and in his every day, he set about analyzing and seeking to break conventions of political timidity with unrivaled resilience and tenacity.
"Never backing down in the face of threats"
"The political decision has not been made because of the general 'political timidity' of this regime [in dealing] with big problems head on.
Gov't is unable or unwilling to enforce its labor laws, says expert
COALITION partner DIKO said yesterday it had no prior knowledge the state's new tax measures, which it said was the result of "panic", "amateurishness" and "political timidity".
DIKO: new taxes a result of 'panic'
Feisty Hannah to Jake's timidity break into Kostas' hut and steal a small flat stone which when rubbed provides a sea of snakes that accompanies a small parchment with an unsolved riddle written in ancient Greek.
Trevaskis, Ian: Medusa Stone
"If they are to reconnect with the people of England after the current political crisis, politicians must end their timidity, silence and inaction on this critical issue."
England bears bulk of immigrant population
He also examines the extent to which timidity, distorted thinking, errors of judgment, and self-serving behavior permeate everything from the boardroom to the academe and the Oval Office.
Flirting with disaster; why accidents are rarely accidental
Summary: The commanding officer of the US Marine unit which was devastated by a suicide bombing in Beirut in 1983 blames the "timidity" of the American response to the blast for giving Al-Qaeda the confidence to launch the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US.
Ex-US commander ties 1983 bombing to 9/11
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