doughface
Also found in: Wikipedia.
dough·face
(dō′fās)n.
A Northerner who sided with the South in the US Civil War, especially a member of Congress who supported slavery.
[Coined by John Randolph (1773-1833), American plantation owner and Congressional representative from Virginia who condemned the cowardice of Northern politicians who abetted the spread of slavery despite their abolitionist principles by likening such politicians to people wearing masks of dough who are frightened by their own appearance : dough (in reference to the masks made of dough worn by mummers in traditional American celebrations) + face.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
doughface
(ˈdəʊˌfeɪs)n
1. a mask made of dough
2. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) derogatory informal US someone who is easily moulded, esp a Northern Democrat who sided with the South in the American Civil War
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
dough•face
(ˈdoʊˌfeɪs)n.
(before and during the Civil War) a Northerner who sympathized with the South, or a Northern politician who was not opposed to slavery in the South.
[1825–30, Amer.]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.