cat’s paw:

(plural: ‘cat’s paws‘)

Apart from the literal meaning of the end part of a limb (foot part of a leg) of a cat…

a person who does indecent (nasty), difficult or dangerous things for somebody else, without any personal benefit or profit;

a person used by another person like a tool; a dupe,

e.g.

Dawson is a mere cat’s paw; he does anything for his brother-in-law who’s nothing better than a crook.

When the company bosses saw an innocent but over-enthusiastic candidate, they appointed him as their representative and made him their cat’s paw, and this employee did all the dirty jobs for them without ever knowing that he was doing wrong until the police had him.

It is an open secret that the military chiefs are nothing but the cat’s paws of the politicians who make them do things that people in the right mind never do!

For an interesting and informative article on the origin of ‘cat’s paw’, please click here, and for an article that shows us how we come across this expression in our everyday English, please click here.
Note: “Cat’s paw” is also used to mean (a) a light breeze that makes a ripple on a small area of water surface (b) a knot used by sailors and fishermen to tie a hook. (And in the video you see below this text, you are shown how to tie a cat’s paw knot. Though in this entry the main point is a person who is called a ‘cat’s paw’, this video about a knot is posted just for the pronunciation of this phrase.)

Return to “cat — figures of speech (1)” in Animals in Language.

About the Author:BC Kumar

BC Kumar, an English Language Teacher, taught in numerous countries including Ethiopia, Oman and India, shares his knowledge and passion for the English Language. Disclaimer: This is a free educational website and all content has been compiled by the author. All copyrights to images and videos belong to their respective owners.

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