Something that is affectedly delicate, dainty, or excessively refined in a somewhat silly way.
Created by Lewis Carroll in 'Jabberwocky' (1871), likely a blend of 'miserable' and 'flimsy' or 'mimicking' and 'flimsy.' Carroll invented many words for his nonsense poetry, and this one stuck around because it captures a specific feeling perfectly.
Carroll didn't just make up random sounds—he was actually inventing a whole language of feeling. The word 'mimsy' describes that awkward prim-and-proper attitude perfectly, which is why 100+ years later we still use it to describe something overly precious.
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