From AmericanYiddishנעביש(nebish), fromנעבעך(nebekh,“poor, unfortunate”).
nebbish (pluralnebbishes)
- One who is fearful andtimid, especially in making decisions and plans, in discussions, debates, arguments, and confrontations, and in taking responsibility.
Actor Rick Moranis often plays anebbish.
2001, Foster Hirsh, quoting Woody Allen,Love, Sex, Death, and the Meaning of Life: The Films of Woody Allen[1]:“I don't consider myself anebbish,” Woody told interviewers early in his career, “but everyone else does.”
2018 March 1, Steven Kurutz, quoting Lisa Schwarzbaum, “How Do You Solve a Problem Like ‘Manhattan’?”, inThe New York Times[2],→ISSN, archived fromthe original on6 August 2020:But as Lisa Schwarzbaum, the former movie critic for Entertainment Weekly, pointed out in an email interview, “‘Manhattan’ was always about a middle-aged man with a high school girlfriend. Back then, ‘Manhattan’ was made by Woody the Lovable NeuroticNebbish, and now it has been made by Allen the Monster. And it’s the same movie.”
2023 May 14,Alix Strauss, “How the Head of a Filmmaking Center Spends His Sundays”, inThe New York Times[3], archived fromthe original on19 May 2023:“Having a camera in my hands transformed anebbish into someone who could make New York into a better place,” he said. “To help others do the same is important to us.”
