Dictionary.com
definitions

clay pigeon

|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR clay pigeon ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Trapshooting, Skeet. a disk of baked clay or other material hurled into the air from a trap as a target.
Slang. a person in a situation likely to be taken advantage of by others.

RELATED CONTENT

Hilarious Misheard Lyrics You Still Are Singing
Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE
Digital Words With An Analog Past
Read more in this article about some frequently asked questions and fun facts related to our definitions.
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

bird, skeet

Origin of clay pigeon

An Americanism dating back to 1885–90
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for clay pigeon

Historical Examples of clay pigeon

British Dictionary definitions for clay pigeon

clay pigeon

noun

a disc of baked clay hurled into the air from a machine as a target to be shot at
US slang a person in a defenceless position; sitting duck
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Idioms and Phrases with clay pigeon

clay pigeon

A person easily duped or taken advantage of, as in You're a clay pigeon for all of those telephone fund-raisers. The term alludes to the clay pigeon of trapshooting, which replaced the use of live birds in this sport in the 1860s. Its transfer to figurative use in the first half of the 1900s probably is explained by the much older slang use of pigeon for “dupe.” Also see fall guy.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.