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cat's-paw
[ kats-paw ]
noun
- a person used to serve the purposes of another; tool.
- Nautical.
- a hitch made in the bight of a rope so that two eyes are formed to hold the hook of one block of a tackle.
- a light breeze that ruffles the surface of the water over a comparatively small area.
- the small area ruffled by such a breeze.
cat's-paw
noun
- a person used by another as a tool; dupe
- nautical a hitch in the form of two loops, or eyes, in the bight of a line, used for attaching it to a hook
- a pattern of ripples on the surface of water caused by a light wind
Word History and Origins
Origin of cat's-paw1
Word History and Origins
Origin of cat's-paw1
Idioms and Phrases
A dupe or tool for another, a sucker, as in You always try to make a cat's paw of me, but I refuse to do any more of your work . This term alludes to a very old tale about a monkey that persuades a cat to pull chestnuts out of the fire so as to avoid burning its own paws. The story dates from the 16th century and versions of it (some with a dog) exist in many languages.Example Sentences
Now and again a cats-paw would ripple across the plain of water, but there were no clouds, there was no sight of land.
And the American Legion began to function as a "cats paw" for the men behind the scenes.
The touching of the pocket with the fingers reminded me of nothing so much as the motion of a cats paw in playing.
Youve made a cats-paw of that boy; youve dragged the sweetest and most innocent girl in the world into your filthy scheme.
A few months later, Henry had discovered that Ferdinand and Maximilian were using him as a cats-paw.
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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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