milksop attitude
- noun
- Offensive
:
actitud blandengue
- The manager criticized Jane's milksop attitude and encouraged her to be more decisive.
Examples
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His milksop attitude made it difficult for him to lead the team.
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A milksop attitude in negotiations rarely leads to favorable outcomes.
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His milksop attitude frustrated his more assertive friends.
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She displayed a milksop attitude during the negotiation.
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A milksop attitude in negotiations rarely leads to favorable outcomes.
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His milksop attitude frustrated his more assertive friends.
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The manager criticized Jane's milksop attitude and encouraged her to be more decisive.
Synonyms
A very timid way of behaving that avoids risk and conflict
Antonyms
How Assertive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from the constituents: 'milksop' denotes a weak or cowardly person and 'attitude' denotes a habitual way of thinking or behaving, so together they straightforwardly mean a weak or timid approach. This follows a regular noun+noun composition pattern that a B1 learner who knows both words can interpret without special idiomatic knowledge.
Etymology
The phrase milksop attitude comes from an old image: a milksop was a piece of bread soaked in milk, very soft and easy to squash. People compared this soft food to a person who was timid and without courage, so the phrase means 'a weak, timid way of behaving'.