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milquetoast

 [milk-tohst]   Example Sentences Origin

milque·toast

   [milk-tohst]
noun (sometimes initial capital letter)
a very timid, unassertive, spineless person, especially one who is easily dominated or intimidated: a milquetoast who's afraid to ask for a raise.
Also called Caspar Milquetoast.

Origin:
1935–40, Americanism; after Caspar Milquetoast, a character in The Timid Soul, comic strip by H. T. Webster (1885–1952), American cartoonist

Can be confused: milk toast, milquetoast.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Milquetoast is always a great word to know.
So is zedonk. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a stew of meat, vegetables, potatoes, etc.
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Example Sentences
  • Ordering chicken is a milquetoast move and not sharing your short ribs is akin to hogging the ball in a pick-up game.
  • The attorney-general is a skilled prosecutor with a milquetoast public profile who has run a somewhat boring campaign.
  • Gross swung from what he called a milquetoast bullish stance to what became by summer a bold bet on lower rates.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
milquetoast (ˈmɪlkˌtəʊst)
 
—n
(US), (Canadian) a meek, submissive, or timid person
 
[C20: from Caspar Milquetoast, a cartoon character invented by H. T. Webster (1885--1952)]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

milquetoast
1938, from Caspar Milquetoast, cartoon character created by H.T. Webster in 1924 as "The Timid Soul." Probably a variation of milksop (also see milktoast).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

milquetoast definition

[ˈmɪlktost]
  1. n.
    an ineffectual man; a shy coward; an effeminate male. : This little milquetoast goes up to the biker, looks at him sort of sad like, and then karate chops him into a quivering pulp.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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