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toady

1 of 2

noun

ˈtō-dē How to pronounce toady (audio)
plural toadies
: one who flatters in the hope of gaining favors : sycophant

toady

2 of 2

verb

toadied; toadying

intransitive verb

: to behave as a toady : engage in sycophancy
toadyism
ˈtō-dē-ˌi-zəm How to pronounce toady (audio)
noun

Did you know?

We can thank old-time toadeaters for toady. In 17th-century Europe, a toadeater was a showman's assistant whose job was to make the boss look good. The toadeater would eat (or pretend to eat) what were supposed to be poisonous toads. The charlatan in charge would then "save" the toad-afflicted assistant by expelling the poison. It's little wonder that such assistants became symbolic of extreme subservience, and that toadeater became a word for any obsequious underling. By the early 1800s, it had been shortened and altered to toady, our current term for a servile self-seeker. By the mid-1800s, toady was also being used as a verb meaning "to engage in sycophancy."

Synonyms

Noun

Verb

Choose the Right Synonym for toady

Noun

parasite, sycophant, toady, leech, sponge mean a usually obsequious flatterer or self-seeker.

parasite applies to one who clings to a person of wealth, power, or influence or is useless to society.

a jet-setter with an entourage of parasites

sycophant adds to this a strong suggestion of fawning, flattery, or adulation.

a powerful prince surrounded by sycophants

toady emphasizes the servility and snobbery of the self-seeker.

cultivated leaders of society and became their toady

leech stresses persistence in clinging to or bleeding another for one's own advantage.

a leech living off his family and friends

sponge stresses the parasitic laziness, dependence, and opportunism of the cadger.

a shiftless sponge, always looking for a handout

Verb

fawn, toady, truckle, cringe, cower mean to behave abjectly before a superior.

fawn implies seeking favor by servile flattery or exaggerated attention.

waiters fawning over a celebrity

toady suggests the attempt to ingratiate oneself by an abjectly menial or subservient attitude.

toadying to his boss

truckle implies the subordination of oneself and one's desires or judgment to those of a superior.

truckling to a powerful lobbyist

cringe suggests a bowing or shrinking in fear or servility.

a cringing sycophant

cower suggests a display of abject fear in the company of threatening or domineering people.

cowering before a bully

Example Sentences

Noun She's a real toady to the boss. no one liked the office toady, who spent most of her time complimenting the boss on what a great job he was doing Verb He's always toadying to the boss. a satirical novel about an amoral go-getter who toadies his way to the top of the corporate ladder
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Thomas Rowlandson, Frederick George Byron and Isaac Cruikshank — used their pens to paint statesman Edmund Burke as a mere toady to monarchy, and radical activist Thomas Paine as an alcohol-sodden and destabilizing mercenary. San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Apr. 2022 Some saw her as a toady who was given access because of her reputation for going easy on interviewees. New York Times, 9 Feb. 2022 After years of being called a Trump toady, the praise must have felt good. Michael D'antonio, CNN, 6 Feb. 2022 Polls show Newsom could be recalled in less than three weeks and a Trump toady installed in his place. Seth Liss, Los Angeles Times, 30 Aug. 2021 Unlike other directorate heads, the majority of whom could be sorted in a Venn diagram between toady and sadist with broad overlap, Ivan was inherently good-natured. Ew Staff, EW.com, 11 May 2021 Nowadays Wolf’s posts generate pages of comments denouncing him as a fascist and the toady of an authoritarian president-- or praising him as a loyal Trump soldier. Nick Miroff And Josh Dawsey, Washington Post, 3 Aug. 2020 Farrow’s walking ego Gaston bursts into the theater from the lobby, trailed as ever by his pal — some would say toady — Lefou (Michael Parisi). Deborah Martin, ExpressNews.com, 18 July 2019 To liken patients to cowering toadies is to patronize them. Kevin Canfield, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 May 2018
Verb
And snobs are accused of toadying to aristocratic types. P.j. O'rourke, Town & Country, 15 Sep. 2016 Instead, most of the film’s first half is devoted to the father’s toadying to his armed superiors while always trying to find a little stray stash for himself. Todd Mccarthy, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 May 2018 For most of the action, the title character is in a coma and we are tossed into the frenzies of the toadying Soviet officials hoping to succeed him. Frank Rich, Daily Intelligencer, 1 Mar. 2018 See More

Word History

Etymology

Noun

by shortening & alteration from toadeater

First Known Use

Noun

1826, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1859, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of toady was in 1826

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