lickspittle en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈlɪkspɪtl/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- lĭkʹspĭtəl (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Received-Pronunciation)
- (Southern-England) audio
- lĭkʹspĭtl (Received-Pronunciation)
Etymology
A compounding: lick (“pass one’s tongue over”) + spittle (“saliva”); the verb may derive by back-formation from the nominal derivation lickspittling (see below).
Meanings
-
A fawning toady; a base sycophant.
In Ottawa, Senator Marjory LeBreton claimed in a speech on Wednesday that allegations of spending abuses by her colleagues were “hyped-up media stories” that were inevitable in a “town populated by Liberal elites and their media lickspittles.”
2013 May 23, “Note to politicians: Stop blaming the media for your problems (Editorial)”, in Globe and Mail, Canada:"You're a suck, a suck and a lickspittle, that's what you are," said the pale man, his voice trembling with passion.
1920, Sherwood Anderson, “chapter 21”, in Poor White:“I frankly couldn't give a cat's knuckle about Gizmo. I mean, he's just kind of this fluttering lickspittle that is always bouncing about, always behind Nandor. But Nandor likes him.” “Oh, shut up, Colin Robinson. You're giving me the pip.”
2021 September 2, Paul Simms, “The Prisoner” (1:01 from the start), in What We Do in the Shadows, season 3, episode 1, spoken by Colin Robinson (Mark Proksch):Like a moustachioed pantomime villain relishing boos and hisses from the audience, Trump is oblivious to warnings and protestations from the sane world and simply contemptuous of the lickspittle mob desperately hoping to go unnoticed.
2026 January 24, Michael Pascoe, “America’s mighty economic power has feet of clay”, in Michael West Media:"I've found you out and know you thoroughly, you mean, whining lickspittle!"
1857, Charlotte Brontë, “chapter 5”, in The Professor:His preposterous insults were legendary, and there are accounts of his small-hour attacks on petty moralists and literary lickspittles in obscure Madrid dives where he chain-smoked and drank gallons of gin.
1993 January 8, James Kirkup, “Obituary: Juan Benet”, in The Independent:
- (broadly) The practice of giving empty flattery for personal gain.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| lickspittles | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| lick-spittle | alternative | lexicographic |
Deriveds
Synonyms
toady · flatterer · sycophant · brown noser
Translations (21)
ru подхали́м (fawning toady) · pl lizus (fawning toady) · ru лизоблю́дство (practice of giving empty flattery) · nl pluimstrijker (fawning toady) · ru лизоблю́д (fawning toady) · qu llaqwaq (fawning toady) · fr lèche-botte (fawning toady) · bg подлизурко (fawning toady) · ru льстец (fawning toady) · pl wazeliniarz (fawning toady) · az yaltaqlıq (practice of giving empty flattery) · nl slijmerd (fawning toady) · fi hännystelijä (fawning toady) · pl przydupas (fawning toady) · de Speichellecker (fawning toady) · it leccapiedi (fawning toady) · az yaltaq (fawning toady) · pl dupowłaz (fawning toady) · ru подхали́мство (practice of giving empty flattery) · bg блюдолизец (fawning toady) · fi nuoleskelija (fawning toady)