lay figure

American  

noun

1. a jointed model of the human body, usually of wood, from which artists work in the absence of a living model.

2. a similar figure used in shops to display costumes.

3. a person of no importance, individuality, distinction, etc.; nonentity.

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lay figure British  

noun

1. an artist's jointed dummy, used in place of a live model, esp for studying effects of drapery

2. a person considered to be subservient or unimportant

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Etymology

Origin of lay figure

1785–95; lay, extracted from obsolete layman < Dutch leeman, variant of ledenman, equivalent to leden- (combining form of lid limb, cognate with Old English, Middle English lith ) + man man )

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lay figure

The mere mention of the rival's name sufficed to reduce Lilly to the position of nothing but a lay figure.

From The Song of Songs by Hermann Sudermann

All this turns the husband in this scene from a mere lay figure into a character, and greatly lessens the artificiality of the original.

From Dramatic Technique by George Pierce Baker

The lay figure or type is one all through.

From The Eliminator; or, Skeleton Keys to Sacerdotal Secrets by Richard B. Westbrook

This good, insipid, incapable lady was 292 not a person to uphold any one, and answered Francezka’s requirement for a lay figure perfectly.

From Francezka by Molly Elliot Seawell

Jenny compared it with the lay figure in the studio and smiled, thinking how funny they would look together.

From Carnival by Compton MacKenzie

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