toady
[toh-dee]
- an obsequious flatterer; sycophant.
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- to be the toady to.
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- to be a toady.
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Origin of toady
Synonyms
See more synonyms for toady on Thesaurus.com1. fawner, yes man, parasite, apple polisher.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for toadying
Historical Examples
"It is worth lots of toadying," declared De Vere, emphatically.
Lancaster's ChoiceMrs. Alex. McVeigh Miller
What looked like toadying was only profound deference for himself.
The MissourianEugene P. (Eugene Percy) Lyle
Now it seems to me that the toadying is all on the other side.
Doctor ThorneAnthony Trollope
His will gives us some insight into the toadying character of the man.
The Wits and Beaux of SocietyGrace Wharton and Philip Wharton
He was a tuft-hunter and a toady, but he did not know that he was doing amiss in seeking to rise by tuft-hunting and toadying.
Can You Forgive Her?Anthony Trollope
toady
- a person who flatters and ingratiates himself or herself in a servile way; sycophant
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- to fawn on and flatter (someone)
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Word Origin
C19: shortened from toadeater
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for toadying
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 (1620s). The verb is recorded from 1827. Related: Toadied; toadying.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper