Whipped Cream Difficulties

Updating a more recent story, some Maryland state troopers are further upset with state AG Doug Gansler, who they have accused of being a horrible backseat driver, because he called their leader a “henchman” of his political opponents. That’s bad but better than being called a “lackey” or “flunky,” at least according to the results of an alcohol-fueled debate I once had about the hierarchy among minions. Henchmen rank more highly and so bear more responsibility for dirty deeds, or so we concluded. I think.

Okay. So it sounds like the hierarchy may run something like this:

1. Sidekick.
2. Henchman. (Or “henchperson”. Or should it be “person of hench”?)
3. Peon.
4. Lackey.
5. Flunky.
6. Pawn.
7. Toady.
8. Minion.

That sound about right to everyone? Discuss in comments. I guess the way I see it, “minion” is the term for both the super-set covering the entire sidekick-henchman-lackey-flunky hierarchy, and the title for the “entry level” position. “Honey, good news! I just got promoted from ‘minion’ to ‘lackey’! Now we can afford premium beer!”

Edited to add: a friend of WCD points out that we left out “toady”, so I’ve added it to the list above. I’m tentatively placing it one step above “minion”.

Also: “pawn” and “peon”. List revised, but the positions given are just starting points for discussion.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 24th, 2013 at 11:43 am and is filed under Clippings, Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.