maiden-auntish

English

Etymology

maiden aunt +‎ -ish

Adjective

maiden-auntish (comparative more maiden-auntish, superlative most maiden-auntish)

1. Having stereotypical characteristics of an elderly unmarried aunt; straight-laced, old-fashioned, etc.
   • 1962, Doris Lessing, The Golden Notebook‎^[1], New York: Bantam, published 1979, page 154:

     […] the literary world […] is a world so prissy, maiden-auntish; so class-bound;

   • 2009, Sarah Waters, chapter 9, in The Little Stranger‎^[2], Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, page 293:

     The smell was of camphor, maiden-auntish:

Derived terms

• maiden-auntishness