toady

toady
toady (n.) "servile parasite," 1826, apparently shortened from toad-eater "fawning flatterer" (1742), originally referring to the assistant of a charlatan, who ate a toad (believed to be poisonous) to enable his master to display his skill in expelling the poison (1629). The verb is recorded from 1827. Related: Toadied; toadying.

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • toady — toady·ish; toady·ism; toady; …   English syllables

  • toady — n *parasite, sycophant, favorite, lickspittle, bootlicker, hanger on, leech, sponge, sponger toady vb *fawn, truckle, cringe, cower Analogous words: *follow, tag, trail, tail: blandish, cajole, wheedle (see COAX) …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • toady — [n] sycophant adulator, apple polisher, ass kisser*, backscratcher*, backslapper*, bootlicker*, brownnoser*, doormat, doter, fan, fawner, flatterer, flunky, groupie*, hanger on*, kiss up*, lackey, minion, teacher’s pet, yesperson*; concept 423… …   New thesaurus

  • toady — [tō′dē] n. pl. toadies [short for TOADEATER, quack doctor s assistant who pretended to eat toads (thought to be poisonous) to show the efficacy of quack medicines] a servile flatterer; sycophant, esp. one who does distasteful or unprincipled… …   English World dictionary

  • Toady — Toad y, n.; pl. {Toadies}. [Shortened from toadeater.] 1. A mean flatterer; a toadeater; a sycophant. [1913 Webster] Before I had been standing at the window five minutes, they somehow conveyed to me that they were all toadies and humbugs.… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Toady — Toad y, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Toadied}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Toadying}.] To fawn upon with mean sycophancy. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • toady — index pander, truckle Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • toady — ► NOUN (pl. toadies) ▪ a person who behaves obsequiously towards others. ► VERB (toadies, toadied) ▪ act obsequiously. ORIGIN said to be from toad eater, a charlatan s assistant who ate toads (regarded as poisonous) as a demonstration of the… …   English terms dictionary

  • toady — I UK [ˈtəʊdɪ] / US [ˈtoʊdɪ] noun [countable] Word forms toady : singular toady plural toadies showing disapproval someone who pretends to like a rich or important person in order to get some advantage from them II UK [ˈtəʊdɪ] / US [ˈtoʊdɪ] verb… …   English dictionary

  • toady — toad·y (tō’dē) n. pl. toad·ies ▸ A person who flatters or defers to others for self serving reasons; a sycophant. tr. & intr.v. toad·ied, toad·y·ing, toad·ies ▸ To be a toady to or behave like a toady. See Synonyms at FAWN(Cf. ↑fawn)1 …   Word Histories

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