# not on your nelly

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/not-on-your-nelly
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

not on your life, an emphatic form of no.

## Examples

- Am I going to lend him money? Not on your nelly.
- Do you want to go skydiving? Not on your nelly.
- He thinks I will work for free, but not on your nelly.
- She asked if I'd ever move back to my hometown, and I said, 'Not on your nelly.'
- My brother asked if I would let him drive my brand-new car across the country, but I told him not on your nelly.
- The waiter asked if we wanted to try the world's spiciest chili pepper, and my friend replied, 'Not on your nelly, I value my stomach.'
- When the corrupt official suggested he might quietly overlook the violation for a small fee, the inspector laughed and said, 'Not on your nelly — not while I wear this badge.'

## Origin

Cockney rhyming slang, derived from the name Nelly Duff. The name serves as a rhyme for puff, representing a puff of breath or the breath of life itself. To refuse on one's Nelly Duff is to swear against the very continuation of one's respiration, a commitment which survived in the mid-20th century primarily in its truncated form.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.