I'm sure you've never heard this before...

The other day, while reading a book or article, I came across a word I'd never seen or heard before in my life: milquetoast.

Being the inquisitive word nerd that I am, I immediately set off on a two-pronged mission: First, to determine whether this was, in fact, a bona fide word, and, if so, what in the world it meant.

I had an immediate hunch it might have something to do with breakfast, likely because it sounds like "milk and toast." But I was dead wrong on that front.

To my surprise, milquetoast is indeed a word!

According to my dictionary app, it means "a meek, submissive, or timid person." Synonyms include childish and unassertive.

Now that you know the world's meaning, what comes to mind?

To me, it conjures an unemployed 40-year-old man who still lives in his mother's house, plays video games most of the day, and lets whatever few friends he has walk all over him.

Sounds rough, I know, but that's the scenario that played out in my head as soon as I read the definition.

Surely, none of us will be using this odd-sounding word at work or while on a first date, but it reminds us there's a whole slew of words in the English language we have yet to come across.

Comments

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