flunky

American  

[fluhng-kee] / ˈflʌŋ ki /

Or flunkey

noun

plural

flunkies

1. a male servant in livery.

2. an assistant who does menial work.

3. a toady; yes-man.

---

flunky British  

/ ˈflʌŋkɪ /

noun

1. a servile or fawning person

2. a person who performs menial tasks

3. derogatory a manservant in livery

---

Other Word Forms

• flunkyism noun

Etymology

Origin of flunky

First recorded in 1775–85; perhaps alteration of flanker

Explanation

A flunky is someone who works obediently for another person. You might apply for a job as a personal assistant, only to realize during the interview that it's really a job as a flunky. A flunky's job is to do whatever he or she is told to do, preferably without question, in a docile, dutiful way. A mob boss or other criminal mastermind might send flunkies out to do his dirty work, while in the old days a typical flunky was a footman or butler — a servant. This meaning comes from the Scottish flunkey, meaning "footman or liveried servant."

Example Sentences

But still, she was just a low-level person doing her job, which, by the way, is the dictionary definition of a flunky.

From Slate • Oct. 20, 2023

"But," the flunky chortles, "I think it won't come to that."

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2022

Moreover, whereas their “Orient Express” had the detective prize integrity above all else, in this one he’s happy to be bought, taking on flunky jobs that earlier Poirots declined.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 11, 2022

My dream of some flunky getting the wrong end of the stick and blasting out the pervy saxophone of The National Anthem by Radiohead has not yet come true.

From The Guardian • Oct. 10, 2019

A born flunky, he loved gossip and the telling of it.

From "Song of Solomon" by Toni Morrison