chamcha

A sycophant and hanger-on or lackey.

Noun

  1. A sycophant and hanger-on or lackey.
    • 1989. Stuart Auerbach. Washington Post. (Mar. 26) “Nehru and His Nation” M J Akbar has been called a chamcha to the Gandhi family, and some of that slavish devotion shows up in his uncritical acceptance of Nehru’s...
    • Chamcha Sycophant (lit. ‘spoon’). 1997. Ghulam Nabi Azad. India Today (June 23) p. 13: I have my own standing in the party. I cannot be anybody’s chamcha (stooge). - 1994. William Dalrymple City of Djinns: A Year in...
    • 1997. Sudhir Vaishnav. Times of India. (Aug. 24) “A very political exercise” Several hangers-on. They are available aplenty everywhere in the country and are often known in the local market as Chamcha.

Origin

Borrowed from Hindi चम्चा (camcā, “sycophant, hanger-on, lackey”, literally “spoon”).

Forms

chamchas

Related

chamchagiri