lickspittle

n.
A fawning underling; a toady.

The remarkably vituperative George Galloway, a Scottish MP accused of receiving oil in exchange for support of Saddam Hussein, lashed out during a visit to the US Senate:

"'I know that standards have slipped in Washington in recent years, but for a lawyer, you're remarkably cavalier with any idea of justice,' he told Norm Coleman, the Minnesota Republican who chairs the senate investigations committee... 'I'm here today, but last week you already found me guilty. You traduced my name around the world without ever having asked me a single question.'"

He had earlier called his accusers a "lickspittle" committee.

Link: Galloway and the mother of all invective

Posted May 19, 2005.

See our Word Overheard blog to see interesting uses of strange words.

a fawning subordinate: toady

A cynical view of the world by Ambrose Bierce

n.

A useful functionary, not infrequently found editing a newspaper. In his character of editor he is closely allied to the blackmailer by the tie of occasional identity; for in truth the lickspittle is only the blackmailer under another aspect, although the latter is frequently found as an independent species. Lickspittling is more detestable than blackmailing, precisely as the business of a confidence man is more detestable than that of a highway robber; and the parallel maintains itself throughout, for whereas few robbers will cheat, every sneak will plunder if he dare.

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - spytslikker

Nederlands (Dutch)
slijmerd, pluimstrijker

Français (French)
n. - flagorneur

Deutsch (German)
n. - Speichellecker

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - χαμερπής, τσανακογλείφτης

Italiano (Italian)
leccapiedi

Português (Portuguese)
n. - parasita (m), bajulador (m)

Русский (Russian)
подхалим

Español (Spanish)
n. - servil, lameculos, pelotillero

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - tallriksslickare, lismare

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
奉承者

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 奉承者

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 아첨꾼 , 알랑쇠

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - おべっか者, おべっか使い
v. - …におべっかを使う, おべっかを使う

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) المتزلق, المتملق‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מתרפס, חנפן‬

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