toady

American  

[toh-dee] / ˈtoʊ di /

noun

plural

toadies

1. an obsequious flatterer; sycophant.

   Synonyms:

   apple polisher, parasite, fawner

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verb (used with object)

toadied, toadying

1. to be the toady to.

verb (used without object)

toadied, toadying

1. to be a toady.

toady British  

/ ˈtəʊdɪ /

noun

1. a person who flatters and ingratiates himself or herself in a servile way; sycophant

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verb

1. to fawn on and flatter (someone)

Other Word Forms

• toadyish adjective
• toadyism noun
• untoadying adjective

Etymology

Origin of toady

First recorded in 1680–90; toad + -y ²

Explanation

You can call the kid who is always really nice to the teacher in hopes of getting a good grade a brown-noser or, if you want to sound clever, a toady. The word toady has a gross, yet engaging history. Back when medicine was more trickery than science, traveling medicine men would come to a town. Their assistant would eat a toad (you read that right) that was assumed poisonous so that the medicine man could "heal" him. Who would want that job, right? So toad-eater, later shortened to toady, came to mean a person who would do anything to please his boss.

Example Sentences

But what Raisi lacked in charisma, he more than made up for in subservience; the man, frankly, was a toady doing the supreme leader’s bidding.

From Seattle Times • May 24, 2024

But Alice’s complaints aren’t just about her million sitting in the bank and the toady outgrowths of fame.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 2, 2021

But the war industry demands a toady with the opposite skill set.

From Salon • Dec. 23, 2020

To a long list of professional milestones, Barr is adding toady, minion and yes man.

From Washington Post • Dec. 30, 2019

Matthew Wood, after baiting John with fierce questions that threw the young student into confusion, had scornfully labeled him a “young toady with no mind of his own.”

From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare