- Today's Word
Toady
TOH-dee
Definition
- (noun) A person who flatters or acts excessively submissive to gain favor with someone in power.
- (verb) To behave in a sycophantic or obsequious manner.
Example
The ambitious intern was seen as a toady, constantly praising the boss in hopes of a promotion.
Fun Fact
“Toady” originates from the term “toad-eater,” referring to 18th-century traveling performers who faked curing toad poisoning—a trick used by charlatans to sell their remedies. The assistant, or “toad-eater,” was the one who pretended to eat the poisonous toad to make the so-called cure seem miraculous. Over time, the phrase evolved into “toady,” meaning someone who fawns over powerful figures for personal gain.
(noun) The act of renouncing or rejecting something; self-denial or the setting aside of one’s own needs and desires.
Her years of abnegation — skipping vacations, forgoing promotions, putting everyone else first — had gone largely unnoticed by the family she’d sacrificed everything for.