led captain
noun1
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.
- 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.1777, The Laughing Philosopher: