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

How can it shed its image as a cat's-paw of the Chinese government and break into the largest telecommunications market in the world?

From Los Angeles Times

His cat's-paw presented itself in the shape of Millais.

From The Guardian

"Was it an explosive?" demanded Slyne, almost boiling over at the idea that he had unwittingly been risking his life as a cat's-paw.

From Project Gutenberg

She felt the wind in a "cat's-paw" now and then, and so the helm lost its control of her, and she went banging against first one berg and then another.

From Project Gutenberg

There was no lack of volunteers for this experimental and cat's-paw work.

From Project Gutenberg