noun
Boswell
BOZ-wehl
noun
1
A person who closely follows someone and faithfully records everything they say and do.
"The senator's aide became something of a boswell, jotting down every remark for the memoirs."
How to Use Boswell
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA devoted note-taker and chronicler of another (usually more famous) person.
When to use it
A literary allusion, mostly used in writing about biography or close companionship.
Common pairings
act as a boswell
a modern-day boswell
Word Forms
Boswells plural
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The senator's aide became something of a _____, jotting down every remark for the memoirs.
Etymology
From James Boswell, the 18th-century biographer whose detailed, admiring record of Samuel Johnson's life and conversation became the model for the genre.