NIMBY

acronym Frequently written Nimby or nimby (Environment) (Politics) The initial letters of the slogan 'not in my back yard', expressing objection to the siting of something unpleasant, such as a nuclear waste dump, in one's own locality (although, by implication, not minding this elsewhere). Hence as an adjective, having the attitude that such unpleasant developments should not be allowed in one's own neighbourhood; as a noun, a person with this attitude, a protester against local developments. Etymology: An acronym, perhaps coined with pronounceability in mind. It very quickly acquired its own grammatical status as an adjective and noun. History and Usage: The abbreviation originated in the US as a derogatory label for the anti-nuclear movement, and is attributed to Walton Rodger of the American Nuclear Society. In its earliest usage (around 1980), it was simply an abbreviated form of the slogan itself, but it soon came to be used as an adjective (especially in Nimby syndrome), to describe an attitude increasingly prevalent both in the US and in the UK. In the UK it was widely used as a noun in connection with reports in 1988 of the then Environment Secretary Nicholas Ridley's opposition to housing developments near his own home. The noun can have the plural Nimbies or Nimbys, the first attesting to its acceptance as a common noun in the language, subject to the morphological rule that words in -y form their plural in -ies, the second remaining faithful to the original slogan's initial letters. Derivatives such as Nimbyism and Nimbyness are sometimes found. He simultaneously made clear his belief that all waste disposal options should be properly examined and expressed unalloyed support for the government's nuclear expansion plans. It would be hard to find a more classic and indefensible example of the NIMBY...syndrome. New Statesman 7 Mar. 1986, p. 11 Nicholas Ridley's embarrassment over revelations that he has on several occasions objected to proposed developments...near his Cotswolds home shows that there may be a closet Nimby...in all of us. Independent 16 June 1988, p. 26