Shrinking violet

A shrinking violet is a shy, modest, self-effacing person and first appears In Times Like These by N. L. McClung (1915), “Voting will not be compulsory; the shrinking violets will not be torn from their fence-corner.” Down the years, many references have been made to the delicate nature of violets starting with Shakespeare Hamlet Act I, Scene III, “A violet in the youth of primy nature, forward, not permanent, sweet, not lasting.” Often used by sports commentators as in, “He’s no shrinking violet when it comes to the physical stuff.”