toadeater

Meaning

A fawning, obsequious parasite; a mean sycophant or flatterer.

Synonyms

bootlicker

toady

yes-man

lickspittle

Translations

vleier

pluimstrijker

strooplikker

dalkavuk

Etymology

From toad + eater, said to allude to an old alleged practice among mountebanks, who would hire a boy to eat (or pretend to eat) toads, which many had considered poisonous. The toadeater (or "toady") would pretend to writhe in pain, until the quack gave him some "medicine", and then try to impress upon the crowd that the boy was cured. Compare toady.