led captain

English

Noun

led captain (plural led captains)

  1. (obsolete) An obsequious sidekick
    • January 8 1733, Jonathan Swift, letter to Lady Betty Germain
      Mr. Pope (with whom I lived) and Mr. Gay were then great favourites of Mrs. Howard, especially the latter, who was then one of her led-captains.
    • 1777, The Laughing Philosopher:
      We hardly ſee a poor Peer, or a debilitated Knight, without his Toad-eater and Led-Captain; a Thing devoted to ſmile when he ſmiles, laugh loud when he does, and entertain his gueſts by ſubmitting himself to be the butt and jeſt of his keeper.

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