| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷məˈkär]thē, -kȧ], ]thi also ]d.ē or ]tē or -i\ noun
( plural charlie mccarthys )
Usage: usually capitalized 1st C&M&3dC
Etymology: after Charlie McCarthy, ventriloquist's dummy made famous by Edgar Bergen b 1903 American ventriloquist & comedian
: one under the complete domination of another often while enjoying apparent independence : stooge , yes-man , dummy
uses him as a Charlie McCarthy to prove that even a schoolboy can see through the fallacious arithmetic of the opposition — Elmer Davis