englishhobby
Key Member
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2009
- Member Type
- English Teacher
- Native Language
- Russian
- Home Country
- Russian Federation
- Current Location
- Russian Federation
In Russian we have this phraseological unit - "a gray mouse". It usually means "a plain-looking woman that is very simply dressed, not very attractive in appearance, hardly noticable by people". It is opposed to a stylish fashionable woman. It's mostly about appearance, though usually "gray mice" are shy or modest in behaviour. Sharlotte Bronte's Jane Ayre was a "gray mouse". Is there an English idiom for this personality type? If not, which words (nouns, adjectives, etc) could best describe this type?