Skip to main content
lickspittle

lickspittle

1 9.9
A person who praises someone in power to get benefits
  • noun
  • /ˈlɪkˌspɪtəl/
  • Offensive
translation icon : lamebotas
  • North Dakota still suffers from an acute infestation of low-information voters, but the election of Heidi shows the people of North Dakota are willing to stand up against the lickspittles of greed like Rick Berg.
  • lickspittle toady

Examples

  • I'm Lickspittle, the nobleman... and I serve the queen.

  • Madam, you are being heinously bamboozled by these lickspittle toadies you surround yourselves with.

  • "What was that, sir?" "I said, 'I never dealt before with such a lickspittle.'"

    Fiction book (2001)
  • You're not in charge now, Alfrid Lickspittle.

  • The students called him a lickspittle because he always agreed with the principal, hoping to earn a good grade.

  • As a lickspittle, he never expressed his true opinions in meetings, always deferring to his boss.

  • Those who acted like lickspittles in the office were often overlooked for promotions due to their lack of authenticity.

Synonyms

lackey
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
20 8.4

A person who says nice things to a powerful person to get something for themselves

is a more insulting and vulgar way to describe the same role
sycophant
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
17 9.3

A person who praises someone important to get favors

is a more vulgar and insulting label for the same servile behavior
crawler
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
5 7.7

A person who praises someone in power to get an advantage

is a nastier, more colorful insult for the same behavior
flatterer
vslickspittle
3 4.2

A person who gives fake praise to get someone's favor

is more contemptuous and focuses on submissive flattery toward authority
ass-kisser
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
3 9.9

A person who flatters someone in charge to get favors

is a cruder, more insulting expression for the same action
bootlicker
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
2 9.6

A person who flatters someone in power to get favors

is a more coarse and contemptuous term for that servility
brown-noser
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
1 8.3

A person who praises someone in charge too much to gain favor

is a harsher, more mocking way to name that same behavior
apple polisher
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
1 8.7

A person who flatters someone in power to get favours

is a sharper, more contemptuous way to describe that flattery
office buttlicker
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
9.9

A person at work who praises their boss too much to get favors

is a more general insulting term not limited to workplace cases
groveler
vslickspittle
7.7

A person who behaves very humbly to please others or avoid trouble

is a more insulting label emphasizing servile flattery rather than humility
rat-licker
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who praises someone in power to get advantages

is a more vulgar and demeaning term for the same action
rock licker
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who gives too many compliments to gain favor

is a more blunt and insulting way to name that submissiveness
suckhole
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who praises a boss to get a favor

is a more crude and offensive label for similar fawning behavior
throne sniffer
vslickspittle
  • Offensive
9.9

A person who flatters people in charge to gain favor

is a more vulgar and insulting term with the same target

Antonyms

907 2.1

A person who competes against another in a game or argument

563 3.0

A person who often finds fault and speaks harshly about others

How Servile

lickspittle
  • Offensive
1 9.9
toady
  • Offensive
8 9.0
sycophant
  • Offensive
17 9.3
flatterer
3 4.2

Surface Forms

lickspittle singular
lickspittles plural

Morphology

lickspittle = lick + spittle (opaque) = lick + spittle

Although the word is structurally a compound of 'lick' and 'spittle', the insulting sense 'sycophant' is not predictable from the literal meanings of the parts.

Etymology

Lickspittle comes from the plain words lick and spittle ('spit' or 'saliva'), giving the rude picture of a person who would lick another's spit to win favour. So a lickspittle (the noun) is someone who flatters and acts very humble to gain favour from those above them.