cat's-paw Hear it!

cat's-paw definition

cat's·-paw (kats′pô′)

noun

  1. a person used by another to do dangerous, distasteful, or unlawful work; dupe: from the tale of the monkey who used the cat's foot to rake the chestnuts out of the fire
  2. a light breeze that ripples the surface of water
  3. Naut. a hitch in the bight of a rope, used to form two loops through which a hook can be passed

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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