a person who is easily swindled, deceived, coerced, persuaded, etc.; sucker.
a person upon whom the blame for something falls; scapegoat; fall guy.
a person who is the object of a joke, ridicule, or the like.
a person who is easily cheated, victimized, etc
a scapegoat
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05; origin uncertain
A patsy is a push-over, someone who can be easily manipulated by others. If your friend has convinced you that you should do all of his laundry out of the goodness of your heart, guess what? You're a patsy. Patsy has its roots in 19th-century American slang, and it still has a slangy air to it. It may have started out as a character in an old vaudeville act named Patsy, who always got the blame when things went wrong. From there a patsy came to mean an easy target, someone who can be suckered into doing the bidding of more strong-willed people. If you show some backbone and assert yourself, you won't get the patsy treatment!
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As Warren Buffett wrote, “If you’ve been playing poker for half an hour and you still don’t know who the patsy is, you’re the patsy.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026
Three days later, he recanted that confession and spent the rest of his life professing his innocence, claiming that he was made a patsy for the real assassin, a man he called “Raoul.”
From Slate • Dec. 1, 2025
Again, the easiest marks are the ones who don't realize they're being set up as a patsy.
From Salon • Oct. 26, 2023
Games like this are designed to inspire dreams, the destruction of a nonconference patsy generating optimism for what’s ahead.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 3, 2022
Without even perfunctory regrets at the man’s passing, he accused Luthuli of being a patsy of the white man, mainly on the grounds that the chief had accepted the Nobel Peace Prize.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
