Meanings
nounpearl clutching (uncountable)
alternative pearl-clutching
- derogatoryidiomaticuncountableOstentatious prim or prudish behaviour, as when being offended.
Vance, in response to the Politico report on Tuesday, said he refuses “to join the pearl clutching when people call for political violence.”
2025 October 15, Ryan Mancini, “Carville rips Vance for response to Young Republican group chat”, in The Hill, archived from the original on 17 Oct 2025
Origin
From the image of a genteel woman clutching her pearl necklace in shock.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
pearl clutching. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pearl%20clutching
MLA
“pearl clutching.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pearl%20clutching. Accessed November 5, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pearl clutching,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pearl%20clutching.
Source: pearl clutching on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.