Boys weren't mollycoddled and grew up to think and act independently.
English dictionary. 2014.
mollycoddle — n. a pampered darling; an effeminate man; a milksop. [WordNet 1.5] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
mollycoddle — v. t. To pamper or coddle. [PJC] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
mollycoddle — (v.) also molly coddle, 1870, from a noun (1833) meaning one who coddles himself, from Molly (pet name formation from Mary), which had been used contemptuously since 1754 for a milksop, an effeminate man, + CODDLE (Cf. coddle) (q.v.). Related:… … Etymology dictionary
mollycoddle — vb humor, pamper, *indulge, spoil, baby … New Dictionary of Synonyms
mollycoddle — [v] pamper baby, caress, cater to, coddle, cosset, dandle*, fondle, indulge, overindulge, overprotect, pet, spoil, wait on; concepts 136,295 … New thesaurus
mollycoddle — ► VERB ▪ treat indulgently or overprotectively. ► NOUN ▪ an effeminate man or boy. ORIGIN from molly «girl» (see MOLL(Cf. ↑moll)) + CODDLE(Cf. ↑coddler) … English terms dictionary
mollycoddle — [mäl′ē käd΄ l] n. [ MOLLY + CODDLE] a man or boy used to being coddled, or protected, pampered, etc.; milksop vt. mollycoddled, mollycoddling to pamper; coddle mollycoddler n … English World dictionary
mollycoddle — mol|ly|cod|dle [ˈmɔliˌkɔdl US ˈma:liˌka:dl] v [T] [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: mollycoddle someone treated too kindly (19 21 centuries), from Molly a female name + coddle] to treat someone too kindly and to protect them too much from anything… … Dictionary of contemporary English
mollycoddle — verb his parents mollycoddle him Syn: pamper, cosset, coddle, spoil, indulge, overindulge, pet, baby, nanny, wait on hand and foot … Thesaurus of popular words
mollycoddle — I. noun Etymology: Molly, nickname for Mary Date: 1833 a pampered or effeminate man or boy II. transitive verb ( coddled; mollycoddling) Date: 1864 to treat with an excessive or absurd degree of indulgence and attention Synonyms: see indulge •… … New Collegiate Dictionary
