Timidity

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Timidity

(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withdrawn, self-effacing seamstress.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crippled girl so shy that she has withdrawn into her own confined world.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]

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

"Allowing North Korea to attack the South with no counter-strike consequences sends a message of weakness and timidity to Kim Jong-il," he added, referring to the North's leader.

South Korea repeats warning against North Korea

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.