Toady

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
User avatar
Dr. Goodword
Site Admin
Posts: 7417
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 9:28 am
Location: Lewisburg, PA
Contact:

Toady

Postby Dr. Goodword » Thu Jan 22, 2015 12:28 am

• toady •

Pronunciation: tow-dee • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: A sycophant, a self-serving, servile, and ingratiating person who constantly flatters in order to gain some advantage.

Notes: Today's Good Word seems to have gone out of style even though toadying itself still persists. We do need this word, so let's not let it slip into oblivion. We can even use it as a verb meaning "to grovel" and, by simply adding the suffix -ish, convert it to a handy adjective meaning "like a toady": toadyish. The behavior itself is known as toadyism, but I would prefer toadiness, as in, "Why, yes, Your Toadiness, whatever your heart desires." Be sure to switch the [y] for an in the plural of today's word: toadies.

In Play: Where I come from (down South) toads are no longer considered poisonous, but they are considered by many the cause of warts: "I'm not surprised the boss has warts on his hand, surrounded as he is by so many toadies." It is not that we lack synonyms: boot-licker, brown-noser and apple-polisher immediately jump to mind. But why resort to such complex compounds when we can keep it simple with today's Good Word: "That toady Maureen brings the teacher an apple every day and tells her how nice she looks."

Word History: Before medical degrees certified doctors, those who knew or pretended to know medicine had to prove their knowledge on the spot. Toads were thought to be poisonous, so charlatans would have an assistant pretend to swallow a toad so that the 'doctor' could extract the poison and miraculously save the assistant's life. Since eating a toad even then was considered unpleasant, those who ate toads quickly took on the reputation of someone who would do anything for a superior. Toadeater first appeared around 1629 and quickly became the metaphor for a fawning sycophant. By the end of that century, it was already being whittled down to a simple toady, where it has remained to this day.
• The Good Dr. Goodword

User avatar
Slava
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 8040
Joined: Thu Sep 28, 2006 9:31 am
Location: Finger Lakes, NY

Re: Toady

Postby Slava » Tue Feb 03, 2015 7:59 pm

I'm not sure why, but I feel that a toady is a male. Using the word for a female seems off somehow. Any thoughts?
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

Philip Hudson
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 2784
Joined: Thu Feb 23, 2006 4:41 am
Location: Texas

Re: Toady

Postby Philip Hudson » Wed Feb 04, 2015 4:29 am

I am reminded of the toady Uriah Heep, a Dickens character. While acting the toady, he pretended to be cursed with great humility. He was actually trying to ingratiate himself to his employer and cheat him out of the law firm business.
It is dark at night, but the Sun will come up and then we can see.

Perry Lassiter
Great Grand Panjandrum
Posts: 3333
Joined: Wed Jan 03, 2007 12:41 pm
Location: RUSTON, LA
Contact:

Re: Toady

Postby Perry Lassiter » Wed Feb 04, 2015 11:13 pm

Although I initially think of a towdy as male, I would not find it jarring to find female sycophants so described.
pl


Return to “Good Word Discussion”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ahrefs [Bot] and 35 guests