Green’s Dictionary of Slang

effeminate, usu. homosexual.

1909		J. Ware Passing Eng. of the Victorian Era.
1927		in M. Houlbrook Sun among Cities (2002) [from police statements 8.1.27] 175: Their appearance and manners made P.C. Spencer think ‘they were undoubtedly of the Nancy type’.
1928		W. Winchell Your Broadway & Mine 27 Dec. [synd. col.] [T]hose uptown ‘drags’ [should] be called ‘nancy dress balls’.
1931		R. Campbell Georgiad in Coll. Poems (1949) I 226: Their flag of truce they raise / To bribe his laughter with their public praise, / And all their little nancy husbands too .
1937		‘George Orwell’ Road to Wigan Pier in Complete Works V (1986) 30: You and I [...] and the Nancy poets [...] —all of us really owe the comparative decency of our lives to poor drudges underground.
1940		Truth (Sydney) 18 Aug. 21/2: Where do they come from? Those Nancy Pansy voices of the announcers of the British Broadcastiung Corporation.
1943		W. Winchell On Broadway 4 Nov. [synd. col.] He has none of the ‘nancy’ or ‘whoopsy’ manner you’d expect.
1968		P. Terson Apprentices (1970) II i: Bagley [nancy like]: Oh, I shouldn’t think so, Mr Bradbury.
1984		A. Sayle Train to Hell 148: Now it’s all right to be a pouf in the Arts or the Theatre or some nancy game like tennis.
1991		J. Osborne Déjàvu Act I: A pack of nancy friends hot from some runaway gala for Aids Concern.
1999		Guardian G2 16 Sept. 17: They’ve been drinking far too much nancy expresso and not enough traditional Klingon Blood Wine.