Nancy boy

[flynnfrogg]

Hi folks

In preparing the garden for the hot summer weeks that I am away (yup! it is high summer here) I was digging trenches for my reticulation. The young man next door offered to help but he turned out to be a Nancy. What is the Chinese phrase for a man who is too dainty or too sissified to put in a couple of hours of hard yakka in the sun? (I am not talking sexual orientation here). I need this phrase to write in my daily Chinese journal. Thank you

Flynn Frogg

[skylee]

Consider the descriptions 娘娘腔 and 娘氣.

[yonglin]

Some friends of mine always use 娘 (e.g., 他很娘) to describe a boy/man who behaves in a way that's more feminine than the social expectation. I'm assuming this would be an informal form of those expressions suggested by skylee...? On the other hand, I get the impression that this expression is used mainly to describe stuff like voice, way of speaking, possibly physical build, and not necessarily the inability to perform physical labour.

That said, "nancy" is a new term for me as well, so I'm not sure I get the distinction in meaning between, say, "nancy" and "sissy" correctly.

[flynnfrogg]

New term for you?

check out http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nancy+boy

http://www.answers.com/topic/nancy-slang-term

What about 'yakka'?

http://www.koalanet.com.au/australian-slang.html#Y

thanks @skylee and @yonglin for the chinese words

[jbradfor]

That said, "nancy" is a new term for me as well

It's British slang. I have never heard it used by someone speaking American-English. The only reason I know it is from (one particular!) Brit.

[insighter]

The above definitions provided are probably the most apt, but I've always personally liked the adjective that describes someone as very 奶油 (literally creamy). It seems to describe well the worthless, lazy, and/or squeamish acquaintances I've had over the years. And that neighbor kid of yours definitely sounded creamy to me.