the.com/scaredy cat

means A person who is overly fearful or reluctant to take risks, especially when being teased for it.

from A simple, affectionate-mocking compound from the mid-20th century, pairing 'scaredy' (a childish intensifier built on 'scared') with 'cat' — cats being proverbially skittish, prone to bolting at sudden noises. It joined a small family of playground insults built the same way, like 'fraidy cat,' which likely came first and may have nudged 'scaredy cat' into existence as a variant.