Today we look at three words one never wants to hear used of oneself: toady, fawn, and truckle. (来源：英语杂志 http://www.EnglishCN.com)

Way back when, fawn (which comes from an Old English word meaning "glad") was used to describe a dog showing affection. Fawn then came to describe someone courting favor in a cringing or flattering manner, or to imply seeking favor by servile flattery or exaggerated attention.

By the way, although this fawn has no etymological link to the fawn naming a young deer, toady—the verb meaning "to engage in sycophancy"—does have a connection to toads. Toady is a shortening of the now-archaic toadeater, a mountebank's assistant who would pretend to eat supposedly poisonous toads so that his boss could expel the poison. Toadying suggests an attempt to ingratiate oneself by an abjectly menial or subservient attitude.

Finally, there's truckle, which means "to act in a subservient manner" and implies the subordination of oneself and one's desires or judgment to those of a superior. The verb truckle comes from the lower position of the truckle bed, a low bed on casters, or truckles, small wheels.

Truckle to no one, but do drop us a line if you're so inclined.