What does lickspittle mean?
A lickspittle is a person who debases themselves by eagerly flattering or fawning over someone, usually a person with power or influence. The term is more forceful than flatterer because it implies not just pleasing words but an excessive, contemptible eagerness to curry favor. It is especially common in arguments about politics, business, and workplace conduct, where it characterizes someone as opportunistic and excessively submissive. The expression can also suggest that the person offers support to whoever is likely to reward them. Because it carries such a strong stigma, it is normally used as an attack on someone's behavior rather than as a neutral description. Knowing the word provides a precise and memorable term for servile praise, while also conveying the moral judgment that ordinary vocabulary such as compliment or agreement would not express.
nounA contemptible person who eagerly seeks favor by flattering or fawning over someone, especially a person in authority.
- A person who servilely flatters or fawns over another, especially someone in a position of power.
"He dismissed the official as a lickspittle who would support anyone who gave him a position."
"The journalist refused to become a politician's lickspittle."
"Her colleagues regarded him as a lickspittle because he supported the manager without question."
The plural is grammatical but uncommon; the singular form carries most of the word's rhetorical force.
"They condemned them as a group of political lickspittles."
The vivid compound—licking and saliva—captures the mixture of eagerness, submissiveness, and contempt contained in the word.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does lickspittle come from?
Lickspittle is a compound formed from lick and spittle, combining images of eager licking and saliva. Its figurative sense presents a person as eagerly seeking favor from someone in a debasing or abject manner. The components are older words whose combination intensifies the broader idea of licking as excessive eagerness to please.
How lickspittle is actually used
Strongly derogatory and commonly used in political, professional, and interpersonal criticism. It describes someone regarded not merely as complimentary but as morally abject or excessively submissive.
Easily confused with lickspittle
A flatterer may simply give pleasing compliments, whereas a lickspittle is portrayed as contemptibly servile in seeking favor.
Both terms describe excessive praise, but lickspittle carries a particularly strong implication of cowardly eagerness to please someone powerful.