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• cat's-paw
  cat's-paw

  noun

  a person used to serve the purposes of another; tool.
• cat's paw
  cat's paw

  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.

cat's-paw

American  

[kats-paw] / ˈkætsˌpɔ /

Or catspaw

noun

1. a person used to serve the purposes of another; tool.

2. Nautical.

   1. 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.

   2. a light breeze that ruffles the surface of the water over a comparatively small area.

   3. the small area ruffled by such a breeze.

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cat's-paw British  

noun

1. a person used by another as a tool; dupe

2. nautical a hitch in the form of two loops, or eyes, in the bight of a line, used for attaching it to a hook

3. a pattern of ripples on the surface of water caused by a light wind

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cat's paw Idioms  

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of cat's-paw

First recorded in 1760–70; in allusion to the fable Le Singe et le Chat “The Monkey and the Cat,” by Jean de La Fontaine, in which the monkey, trying to save its own paw, uses the paw of a cat to retrieve roasted chestnuts out of a fire

Example Sentences

These include a tile marked with a cat's paw print, Roman coins and discarded animal bones.

From BBC • Aug. 2, 2023

FamilyMart Executive Officer Tomohiro Kano referred to the Japanese expression “seeking even a cat’s paw for help” to describe how desperate a situation might get.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 31, 2022

Late that night, Anna snaps awake wondering why Ethan asked how her cat’s paw was doing, although there was no way he could have known it was injured.

From Slate • May 14, 2021

“It’s not in his temperament to be a cat’s paw, and I don’t think he would take anything overtly from the F.S.B.,” said one, referring to the Russian intelligence agency.

From New York Times • Aug. 31, 2016

I was under the chupah, I was under a lot of pressure trying to think of surprises for the cat's paw invitations.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg