CAT'S-PAW


Meaning of CAT'S-PAW in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ˈkats-ˌpȯ ]

noun

( plural cat's-paws )

Date: circa 1769

1. : a light air that ruffles the surface of the water in irregular patches during a calm

2.

[from the fable of the monkey that used a cat's paw to draw chestnuts from the fire]

: one used by another as a tool : dupe

the…government became the cat's-paw for foreign powers — D. J. Boorstin

3. : a hitch knot formed with two eyes for attaching a line to a hook — see knot illustration

Merriam-Webster's Collegiate English vocabulary.      Энциклопедический словарь английского языка Merriam Webster.