Sentence:  He was a co-founder of the Indianapolis Chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous. ¶ His obituary in the "Indianapolis Star" said that he himself was not an alcoholic. ¶ This denial was at least partly a <WSD>nice-Nellyism</WSD> from the past, I think. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A euphemism; an act or expression of prudishness or excessive modesty.