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  1. milquetoast love

Definitions

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

  1. n. One who has a meek, timid, unassertive nature.

Wiktionary

  1. adj. Meek, timid.
  2. n. pejorative A person of meek or timid disposition.

GNU Webster's 1913

  1. n. a timid, unassertive man or boy fearful of confrontation and easily manipulated and dominated.

WordNet 3.0

  1. n. a timid man or boy considered childish or unassertive

Etymologies

  1. From the character Caspar Milquetoast of the comic strip The Timid Soul, created by Harold Webster and first published in 1924 (named after the American dish milk toast). (Wiktionary)
  2. After Caspar Milquetoast, a comic-strip character created by Harold Tucker Webster (1885-1952). (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)

Examples

  • “Real quick, Wolf, you know, some social conservatives are not happy about John McCain's statement on the California gay marriage ruling, because in essence, it came out as just kind of what they call a milquetoast (ph), some sort of just generic statement rather than really taking the issue as one about judges and one about marriage and taking control and being more forceful in that area.”

    CNN Transcript May 27, 2008

  • “If McGavick can't even get me excited about him being Senator, he is toast. toast as in "milquetoast".”

    Sound Politics: Senate Race Needs One More Ingredient

  • “Reaganaut gives us a good perspective into the right wing mythology (FDR was a conservative, Charles Lindburgh was a liberal, Bush is not a limp wristed milquetoast from the East with a fake drawl, supporting our troops means getting them killed, anyone who disagrees hates America, etc).”

    Think Progress » $70,500.

  • “Feeling toasty: Kudos (in the piece about the Ghost Riderz scooter gang) for using the word milquetoast in a sentence.”

    pjstar.com Home RSS

  • “Obviously a "bipartisan" (aka milquetoast) bill isn't going to work.”

    Obama Edging Into More Active Role On Crisis

  • “A milquetoast is a weak, ineffectual or bland person.”

    Latest Articles

  • “McCain's candidacy until now could've only been described as milquetoast, but it's quickly become clear that both parties are geared up for the big sprint ahead.”

    owl and bear

  • “This kind of milquetoast ambivalence that we're seeing on display about what exactly it is that NASA is going to be doing in their human spaceflight efforts is why I don't ever bother going to the NASA 'big program' presentations at space conferences.”

    A Shift in Policy? Moon Base Axed? - NASA Watch

  • “This isn't necessarily the same kind of "milquetoast" behavior that caused Kerry and Gore to almost-but-not-quite make it.”

    CT-05: Murphy Rebuffs DCCC Calls For Negative Ads: "I Want To Sleep At Night"

  • “She wrote him off as a "milquetoast", but softened her criticism by stating that "even the worst Republican is better than any Democrat".”

    Eric Williams: Right Like Me

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synonyms (4)

Words with the same meaning

  1. Sissy
  1. pantywaist
  1. pansy
  1. milksop

hypernyms (1)

Words that are more generic or abstract

  1. coward

same context (15)

Words that are found in similar contexts

  1. one-god
  2. earnest-minded
  3. devoutest
  1. sound-hearted
  2. apologia
  3. rationalizations
  1. foolhardy
  2. self-glorification
  3. diehard
  1. undoubting
  2. fatalist
  3. uncircumcised
  1. extenuation
  2. rationalization
  3. halfway

tags (5)

Free-form, user-generated categorization

  1. iueoa
  1. fear
  1. cvccvvcvvcc
  1. words from comics
  1. negative

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tagging (1)

Words tagged ‘milquetoast’

  1. Watford library photocopier repair bill Emergency Action Commitee meeting planner assistant

Wordmap

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Word visualization

Lists

These user-created lists contain the word ‘milquetoast’.

More lists containing ‘milquetoast’

Comments

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  • jennarenn Gosh, I love wordie. Every time I come back, I learn somethng new. :)
    Jan 27, 2013

  • ry I wouldn't be surprised to find that the Watford library photocopier repair bill Emergency Action Commitee meeting planner assistant was a milquetoast
    Jan 27, 2013

  • alexz Watford library photocopier repair bill Emergency Action Commitee meeting planner assistant Jan 27, 2013

  • bilby In that example it's a simple noun stack where milquetoast fills the slot of modifier. You can do this with any old English noun. In fact you can keep stacking and modifying to your heart's content, even with proper nouns:
    photocopier
    library photocopier
    Watford library photocopier
    etc.
    Even the ultimate noun (the head) can become a modifier if you have another noun to take its place:
    Watford library photocopier repair
    Watford library photocopier repair bill

    In summary, milquetoast is a noun but like other nouns it can function as a modifier.
    Jan 26, 2013

  • alexz The early 20th century referred to Caspar Milquetoast a lot. http://goo.gl/OjP0g
    I haven't heard this term in Canada, so this would be an Americanism.

    Here's the adjective use
    "In The Kid from Brooklyn he plays Burleigh Sullivan, a Milquetoast milkman who accidentally knocks out a boxing champion and becomes a prizefighter in spite of the fact that he has hardly the strength to lick a postage stamp."

    Jan 26, 2013

  • bilby I can't provide a grammar critique of thin air so please cite one/some of these claimed adjectival usages here and let's have a look. Jan 26, 2013

  • ruinedmap Often see this word used as an adjective, but most dictionaries only consider it a noun. How proper is the adjective use? Jan 26, 2013

  • chained_bear Temporary Tattoos for Wimps. Jun 24, 2009

  • quotato Casper first appeared in a cartoon entitled (appropriately enough) The Friendly Ghost, based on an unpublished story written by Seymour V. Reit Feb 2, 2007

  • mshalston Usage other than the foodstuff originated from the comic strip character created by Harold Webster, Casper Milquetoast Feb 2, 2007

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‘milquetoast’ has been looked up 5718 times, loved by 31 people, added to 156 lists, commented on 10 times, and has a Scrabble score of 22.