What is the meaning of ‘mollycoddle’?
(P. Gayathri, Bangalore)
The expression can be used both as a noun and a verb. When you ‘coddle’ someone, you go out of your way to protect the person; you are being overly protective. ‘Molly’, I understand, was traditionally a nickname for ‘Mary’. The expression ‘mollycoddle’ is often used contemptuously to refer to a man whom you think is rather weak and ineffectual; the individual, in your opinion, is effeminate. When used as a verb, it means to overprotect or pamper someone.
*The new principal believes that students should be mollycoddled.
S. UPENDRAN
upendrankye@gmail.com
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