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 )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lay figure

The lay figure or type is one all through.

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

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 Baker, George Pierce

I must tell you that my father hit upon the novel idea of introducing a kind of dummy, or lay figure, on which this idiotic Nathalie lavishes all her caresses.

From An Englishman in Paris Notes and Recollections by Albert D.

The statue is darkened, and the lay figure of the statue is replaced by the living Jeanne.

From One-Act Plays By Modern Authors by Various

Matilda's character is drawn well at the start; in the latter part she rather tends to become a lay figure.

From Philip Massinger by Cruickshank, A. H.