TOADEATER

Etymology

Noun

toadeater (plural toadeaters)

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

Source: Wiktionary


Toad"eat`er, n. Etym: [Said to be so called in allusion to an old alleged practice among mountebanks' boys of eating toads (popularly supposed to be poisonous), in order that their masters might have an opportunity of pretending to effect a cure. The French equivalent expression is un avaleur de couleuvres. Cf. Toady.]

Definition: A fawning, obsequious parasite; a mean sycophant; a flatterer; a toady. V. Knox. You had nearly imposed upon me, but you have lost your labor. You're too zealous a toadeater, and betray yourself. Dickens.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

1 February 2025

GRIP

(noun) an intellectual hold or understanding; “a good grip on French history”; “they kept a firm grip on the two top priorities”; “he was in the grip of a powerful emotion”; “a terrible power had her in its grasp”


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Coffee Trivia

Espresso is both a coffee beverage and a brewing method that originated in Italy. When making an espresso, a small amount of nearly boiling water under pressure forces through finely-ground coffee beans. It has more caffeine per unit volume than most coffee beverages. Its smaller serving size will take three shots to equal a mug of standard brewed coffee.

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