Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun One who has a meek, timid, unassertive nature.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun a timid, unassertive man or boy fearful of confrontation and easily manipulated and dominated.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective
Meek ,timid . - noun pejorative A
person ofmeek ortimid disposition .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a timid man or boy considered childish or unassertive
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word milquetoast.
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.
-
If McGavick can't even get me excited about him being Senator, he is toast. toast as in "milquetoast".
-
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).
-
Feeling toasty: Kudos (in the piece about the Ghost Riderz scooter gang) for using the word milquetoast in a sentence.
pjstar.com Home RSS 2008
-
Obviously a "bipartisan" (aka milquetoast) bill isn't going to work.
-
A milquetoast is a weak, ineffectual or bland person.
Latest Articles libertyreborn.com 2009
-
A milquetoast is a weak, ineffectual or bland person.
Latest Articles 2009
-
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 2008
-
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.
-
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" 2009
mshalston commented on the word milquetoast
Usage other than the foodstuff originated from the comic strip character created by Harold Webster, Casper Milquetoast
February 3, 2007
quotato commented on the word milquetoast
Casper first appeared in a cartoon entitled (appropriately enough) The Friendly Ghost, based on an unpublished story written by Seymour V. Reit
February 3, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word milquetoast
Temporary Tattoos for Wimps.
June 25, 2009
ruinedmap commented on the word milquetoast
Often see this word used as an adjective, but most dictionaries only consider it a noun. How proper is the adjective use?
January 26, 2013
bilby commented on the word milquetoast
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.
January 27, 2013
alexz commented on the word milquetoast
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."
January 27, 2013
bilby commented on the word milquetoast
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.
January 27, 2013
alexz commented on the word milquetoast
Watford library photocopier repair bill Emergency Action Commitee meeting planner assistant
January 27, 2013
ry commented on the word milquetoast
I wouldn't be surprised to find that the Watford library photocopier repair bill Emergency Action Commitee meeting planner assistant was a milquetoast
January 27, 2013
jennarenn commented on the word milquetoast
Gosh, I love wordie. Every time I come back, I learn somethng new. :)
January 27, 2013