According to Wordnik, a nebbish is a Yiddish term for a “timid unfortunate simpleton.” In my sojourns among the nebbishy, I’ve also heard the term abbreviated to “neb” or “nebby,” as in “He’s such a neb.”
That’s why I was kind of stunned to see this sign at 2nd and Massachusetts on Capitol Hill in DC recently:
Maybe it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy: The place styles itself a “caffe 4 friends” and anyone who would find that cute or appealing must be a nebbish?
Once again, I find myself repeating the immortal words of Inigo Montoya : I do not think it means what you think it means.