Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
to call someone a nancyboy

to call someone a nancyboy

9.9
To insult a man by saying he is like a woman in a hurtful way
  • idiom
  • Slur
translation icon : llamar a alguien maricón
  • He was hurt when classmates called him a nancyboy because of his interests.

Examples

  • Despite being called a nancyboy by bullies, he remained proud of who he was.

  • Some people still use the phrase to call someone a nancyboy, not realizing how offensive it is.

  • Don't call him a nancyboy!

  • He doesn't like it when people call him a nancyboy.

  • He was upset after they called him a nancyboy just for liking fashion.

  • It's hurtful when people call someone a nancyboy for expressing themselves differently.

  • She warned her friend not to call someone a nancyboy as it could be deeply offensive.

Synonyms

to label someone a slutbag
vsto call someone a nancyboy
  • Offensive
9.9

Call someone a rude name that says they have many partners

accuses someone of being effeminate rather than of sexual promiscuity

Antonyms

to celebrate
201 2.1

To praise someone in public for something they did

How Offensive

to call someone a nancyboy
  • Slur
9.9
pansy
  • Slur
12 9.9
sissy
  • Slur
59 8.2

Surface Forms

call someone a nancyboy infinitive
called someone a nancyboy past
called someone a nancyboy past participle
calling someone a nancyboy present participle
calls someone a nancyboy third person singular

Morphology

call + someone + a + nancyboy

The syntactic frame 'call someone a + label' is fully compositional — it means to name or label someone, often pejoratively — but the crucial constituent 'nancyboy' is slang, rare and not transparently analyzable from its parts. A B1 learner who knows 'call', 'someone' and 'boy' might guess a sense of 'feminine man', but they would likely miss the specific derogatory, culture-bound meaning without prior exposure.

Etymology

Call someone a nancyboy may come from using the woman's name Nancy plus boy, so the picture is of a man seen as 'like a woman'. That's why people use the phrase to insult someone by saying they are 'effeminate'.