Difference between revisions of "Milquetoast"
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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> | + | 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> |
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>World Wide Words, ''MILQUETOAST'', by Michael Quinion, 1 Jun 2002 [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mil1.htm]</ref> The name is a Frenchified reference to the dish "milk toast", toast soaked in milk, which was fed to the sick. <ref>Don Markstein's Toonopedia™, ''THE TIMID SOUL''[http://www.toonopedia.com/milqueto.htm]</ref> The term ''milksop'' (untoasted bread soaked in milk<ref>Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, ''"milksop"'', 15 Mar. 2009. [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/milksop]</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>. | 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>World Wide Words, ''MILQUETOAST'', by Michael Quinion, 1 Jun 2002 [http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-mil1.htm]</ref> The name is a Frenchified reference to the dish "milk toast", toast soaked in milk, which was fed to the sick. <ref>Don Markstein's Toonopedia™, ''THE TIMID SOUL''[http://www.toonopedia.com/milqueto.htm]</ref> The term ''milksop'' (untoasted bread soaked in milk<ref>Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, ''"milksop"'', 15 Mar. 2009. [http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/milksop]</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>. | ||
Revision as of 13:47, March 16, 2009
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
- ↑ Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc., "milquetoast.", 15 Mar. 2009. [1]
- ↑ World Wide Words, MILQUETOAST, by Michael Quinion, 1 Jun 2002 [2]
- ↑ Don Markstein's Toonopedia™, THE TIMID SOUL[3]
- ↑ Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, "milksop", 15 Mar. 2009. [4]
- ↑ Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. "milksoppy" 15 Mar. 2009. [5]
- ↑ "milksop." Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. MICRA, Inc. 15 Mar. 2009. [6]
- ↑ "milksop." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. 15 Mar. 2009. [7]
- ↑ William Shakespeare, Richard III [8]