the.com/henchman
the only job where loyalty is mandatory but a name tag is optional.
means A faithful follower or subordinate who carries out the orders of a powerful person, often in shady or criminal schemes.
from From Middle English 'hengestman,' joining 'hengest' (a stallion or gelding, a word with cousins across the old Germanic tongues) with 'man' — so a henchman was once literally a horse-man: a groom or squire who attended a great lord on horseback. As the centuries passed the horse trotted out of the meaning, leaving behind the loyal attendant, who eventually picked up the faint whiff of villainy he carries today.
- old word
- medieval 'hengestman' meant a horse groom
- job hazard
- first to fight the hero, first to fall
- no lines
- villains monologue, henchmen just nod menacingly
- henchwomen
- exist, and usually outsmart the boss
oddjob — james bond villain's lethal henchman in goldfinger (1964), famous for his razor-rimmed bowler hat
jaws — bond henchman in the spy who loved me (1977), played by richard kiel, with metal teeth
nick nack — scaramanga's tiny henchman in the man with the golden gun (1974), played by hervé villechaize