noun / verb
toady
TOH-dee/ˈtəʊdi/
Flattery or service to someone powerful for personal advantage.
The employee toadies to the executive by suddenly praising the crude painting.
Etymology
Apparently from “toad-eater,” an assistant who swallowed supposedly poisonous toads so a charlatan could stage a cure; this became a term for a fawning flatterer. The adjective “toady,” meaning “loathsome,” may instead underlie or have influenced it.
In context
there's a competition over at Trump TV to see who can be the most shameless toady for the man in the White House
More examples
- The senator surrounds herself with toadies who praise every decision.
- Nobody respects a toady who flatters managers to get ahead.
- She refuses to toady to wealthy donors for campaign money.
Forms
toady · toadies · toadied · toadying
toadyism noun — Servile flattery used to gain favors.