i Register
In some senses, cat's-paw is marked as figuratively. Watch for register when choosing this word.
cat's-paw
noun 5
Collocations
2ADJ.
common, vulgar
PREP.
in
Definitions
noun
1
A paw of a cat.
2
Someone who acts in another's interest, (properly) unknowingly or through trickery.
To take the Cat by the foote, and therewith rake the coales out of the Ouen.
These he useth as the Monkey did the Cats paw, to scrape the nuts out of the fire.
3
A minor breeze that ripples the surface of a body of water.
Cats-paw, a light air of wind perceived... by the impression made on the surface of the sea, which it sweeps very lightly, and then decays.
No, not a cat’s paw anywhere: Hold up your finger in the air You could n’t feel a breath; For why, in yonder storm that burst, The wind that blew so hard at first Had blown itself to death.
4
A twisting variant of the lark's-foot hitch which forms two small bights used to hook a pair of tackles to a rope.
...when the mate came to shake the catspaw out of the down-haul...
5
Someone or something that comes down quickly upon a victim in the manner of a cat's paw.
[T]hese Florentines [...] / In hungry pride and gainful cowardice, / [...] / Quick cat's-paws on the generous stray-away.
Thesaurus
Synonyms
noun — a person used by another to gain an end
Antonyms
Idioms & Phrases
Example Bank
301
To take the Cat by the foote, and therewith rake the coales out of the Ouen.
Wiktionary02
These he useth as the Monkey did the Cats paw, to scrape the nuts out of the fire.
Wiktionary03
Cat's-paw, common in vulgar speech, but not in writing.
WiktionaryUsage Notes
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