milquetoast
/ˈmɪlktəʊst
/noun chiefly North American
A person who is timid or submissive: [as modifier]: a frail, milquetoast character...
- Alarms ring when Garvin speaks of applying to the Olympic Village design standards like those that produced the Milquetoast, nothing-ventured buildings at Battery Park City.
- Enter Ray Rhodes, a highly regarded defensive troubleshooter with a knack for resurrecting Milquetoast units.
- Charlie is the self-effacing, Milquetoast dude who allows people to walk all over him.
Origin
1930s: from the name of a cartoon character, Caspar Milquetoast, created by H. T. Webster in 1924.