Difference between revisions of "Milquetoast"

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'''Milquetoast''' refers to an unassertive and spineless person who can be easily intimidated or dominated.
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According to the Random House Dictionary, the term '''milquetoast''' refers to "a very timid, unassertive, spineless [[person]], esp. one who is easily dominated or intimidated".<ref>Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc., ''"milquetoast."'', 15 Mar. 2009. [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/milquetoast]</ref>
  
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The term comes from a character in Harold T. Webster's 1924-1953 ''New York Herald Tribune'' comic strip ''The Timid Soul''.  The character's name was Caspar Milquetoast, and Webster described him as “the man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick”.<ref>World Wide Words, ''MILQUETOAST'', by Michael Quinion,  1 Jun 2002 [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mil1.htm]</ref>
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The term comes from a character in Harold T. Webster's 1924-1953 ''New York Herald Tribune'' comic strip ''The Timid Soul''.  The character's name was Caspar Milquetoast; Webster described him as “the man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick”.<ref>[http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mil1.htm World Wide Words, ''MILQUETOAST'', by Michael Quinion,  1 Jun 2002]</ref>  The name is a Frenchified reference to the dish "milk toast", toast soaked in milk, which was fed to the sick.<ref>[http://www.toonopedia.com/milqueto.htm Don Markstein's Toonopedia™, ''THE TIMID SOUL'']</ref>  The term ''milksop'' (untoasted bread soaked in milk<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/milksop Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, ''"milksop"'', 15 Mar. 2009]</ref>) has been used since the fourteenth century to refer to "a weak or ineffectual person",<ref>Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. ''"milksoppy"'' 15 Mar. 2009. [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/milksoppy]</ref> "an effeminate or weak-minded person",<ref>"milksop." Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. MICRA, Inc. 15 Mar. 2009. [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/milksop]</ref> or "a man lacking courage and other qualities deemed manly".<ref>"milksop." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 15 Mar. 2009. [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/milksop]</ref>
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{{cquote|And who doth lead them but a paltry fellow, / Long kept in Brittany at our mother's cost, / A milksop, one that never in his life / Felt so much cold as overshoes in snow?  --William Shakespeare, ''Richard III''<ref>[http://nfs.sparknotes.com/richardiii/page_334.html William Shakespeare, ''Richard III'']</ref>}}
  
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[[Liberals]] exploit and capitalize on the existence of milquetoast personalities in schools, corporations and other institutions in order to push their agenda.
 
  
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[[Category:Liberals]][[Category:Debate]][[Category:Rhetoric]]
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==References==
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<references/>
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[[Category:Debate]][[Category:Rhetoric]]

Latest revision as of 05:59, July 12, 2016

According to the Random House Dictionary, the term milquetoast refers to "a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, esp. one who is easily dominated or intimidated".[1]

The term comes from a character in Harold T. Webster's 1924-1953 New York Herald Tribune comic strip The Timid Soul. The character's name was Caspar Milquetoast; Webster described him as “the man who speaks softly and gets hit with a big stick”.[2] The name is a Frenchified reference to the dish "milk toast", toast soaked in milk, which was fed to the sick.[3] The term milksop (untoasted bread soaked in milk[4]) has been used since the fourteenth century to refer to "a weak or ineffectual person",[5] "an effeminate or weak-minded person",[6] or "a man lacking courage and other qualities deemed manly".[7]

“ And who doth lead them but a paltry fellow, / Long kept in Brittany at our mother's cost, / A milksop, one that never in his life / Felt so much cold as overshoes in snow? --William Shakespeare, Richard III[8] ”


References

  1. ↑ Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc., "milquetoast.", 15 Mar. 2009. [1]
  2. ↑ World Wide Words, MILQUETOAST, by Michael Quinion, 1 Jun 2002
  3. ↑ Don Markstein's Toonopedia™, THE TIMID SOUL
  4. ↑ Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, "milksop", 15 Mar. 2009
  5. ↑ Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. "milksoppy" 15 Mar. 2009. [2]
  6. ↑ "milksop." Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. MICRA, Inc. 15 Mar. 2009. [3]
  7. ↑ "milksop." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 15 Mar. 2009. [4]
  8. ↑ William Shakespeare, Richard III
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