Word of the Day
tufthunter (n)
A sycophant or toady
"Mr. Brandon was a tufthunter of the genteel sort; his pride being quite as slavish, and his haughtiness as mean and cringing, in fact, as poor Mrs. Gann's stupid wonder and respect for all the persons whose names are written with titles before them."
--William Makepeace Thackeray, A Shabby Genteel Story
One of my professors in college -- who was also a famous novelist -- was highly susceptible to tufthunters. It was interesting to watch someone so esteemed and seemingly brilliant be manipulated by the flattery of mere students. Interesting and...nauseating.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
What's on your mind?