See cat's-paw in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "From cat + paw. In most senses, due to a resemblance of shape. In its senses as a pawn to another's interests or analysis, variant of earlier cat's-foot, derived from European tales of a monkey (attested as early as 1456 but sometimes misattributed to the 16th-century monkey of Pope Julius II) who used a sleeping puppy or cat's foot to rake hot chestnuts out of a fire, taken as a metaphor for rulers' ill use of their subjects. Now usually understood in light of Jean de La Fontaine's 1679 fable of the \"The Monkey and the Cat\" (sometimes misattributed to Aesop), in which the monkey fools the cat into removing the chestnuts through flattery and promises of shared reward. The cat removes the chestnuts one by one, burning his paw while the monkey eats each in turn. A maid then enters and chases them both away. La Fontaine's moral concludes that princes should not endure real losses for mere flattery from their king.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "cat's-paws",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
},
{
"form": "cats'-paws",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "s",
"2": "cats'-paws"
},
"expansion": "cat's-paw (plural cat's-paws or cats'-paws)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"hypernyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 23 3 20 7 14 18 2 10 2",
"sense": "one used for another's purposes",
"word": "pawn"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 23 3 20 7 14 18 2 10 2",
"sense": "one used for another's purposes",
"word": "puppet"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 23 3 20 7 14 18 2 10 2",
"sense": "one used for another's purposes",
"word": "tool"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "monkey's paw"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "an unrelated metaphor from a separate story"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "cat's eye"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "a feature of gemstones"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "monkey's fist"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "an unrelated type of knot"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "flying monkeys"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "in popular psychology"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "people acting on behalf of a narcissist"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "denailer"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "a power tool used to remove nails"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "dogsbody"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "a person who does menial work"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"glosses": [
"A paw of a cat."
],
"id": "en-cat's-paw-en-noun-5zl-vsY6",
"links": [
[
"paw",
"paw"
],
[
"cat",
"cat"
]
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "96 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "paw of a cat",
"word": "kissan käpälä"
},
{
"_dis1": "96 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "paw of a cat",
"word": "kissan tassu"
},
{
"_dis1": "96 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "paw of a cat",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Katzenpfote"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1622, Mateo Alemán, translated by James Mabbe, The Rogue, volume II, page 167:",
"text": "To take the Cat by the foote, and therewith rake the coales out of the Ouen.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1657, Michael Hawke, Killing is Murder and No Murder, page 3:",
"text": "These he useth as the Monkey did the Cats paw, to scrape the nuts out of the fire.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1836, Charles Richardson, A New Dictionary of the English Language, s.v. \"Cat\"",
"text": "Cat's-paw, common in vulgar speech, but not in writing."
},
{
"ref": "1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, page 243:",
"text": "Eddie Mars was behind Geiger, protecting him and using him for a cat's-paw.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2022, Jonathan V. Last, (Please provide the book title or journal name):",
"text": "And for a third thing, Johnson never seemed like he was intent on blowing up NATO because he was a Russian cat’s paw.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Someone who acts in another's interest, (properly) unknowingly or through trickery."
],
"id": "en-cat's-paw-en-noun-CFs9puKY",
"links": [
[
"Someone",
"someone"
],
[
"act",
"act"
],
[
"another",
"another"
],
[
"interest",
"interest"
],
[
"unknowingly",
"unknowingly"
],
[
"trickery",
"trickery"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively) Someone who acts in another's interest, (properly) unknowingly or through trickery."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "tool"
},
{
"word": "dupe"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 26 3 21 7 14 19 2 4 2",
"sense": "one unwittingly used for another's purposes",
"word": "dupe"
}
],
"tags": [
"figuratively"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "0 76 2 2 5 2 4 2 7 1",
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "gōngjùrén",
"sense": "someone who acts in another's interest",
"word": "工具人"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 76 2 2 5 2 4 2 7 1",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "someone who acts in another's interest",
"word": "apuri"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 76 2 2 5 2 4 2 7 1",
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "someone who acts in another's interest",
"word": "eszköze"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Nautical",
"orig": "en:Nautical",
"parents": [
"Transport",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1769, William Falconer, An Universal Dictionary of the Marine:",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1845, Thomas Hood, The Captain’s Cow:",
"text": "No, not a cat’s paw anywhere:\nHold up your finger in the air\nYou could n’t feel a breath;\nFor why, in yonder storm that burst,\nThe wind that blew so hard at first\nHad blown itself to death.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:",
"text": "“Now,” said Hands, “look there; there’s a pet bit for to beach a ship in. Fine flat sand, never a cat’s paw, trees all around of it, and flowers a-blowing like a garding on that old ship.”",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1930, Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons:",
"text": "There was very little wind, though now and again a catspaw hurrying from the south helped them on their way and darkened the smooth small waves.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A minor breeze that ripples the surface of a body of water."
],
"id": "en-cat's-paw-en-noun-rItRbGvp",
"links": [
[
"nautical",
"nautical"
],
[
"minor",
"minor"
],
[
"breeze",
"breeze"
],
[
"ripple",
"ripple"
],
[
"surface",
"surface"
],
[
"body",
"body"
],
[
"water",
"water"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(nautical) A minor breeze that ripples the surface of a body of water."
],
"topics": [
"nautical",
"transport"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "0 2 66 6 4 5 6 3 5 4",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "nautical: minor breeze",
"word": "tuulenvire"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Nautical",
"orig": "en:Nautical",
"parents": [
"Transport",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1840, Richard Henry Dana, chapter XXXIII, in Two Years Before the Mast, page 125:",
"text": "...when the mate came to shake the catspaw out of the down-haul...",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A twisting variant of the lark's-foot hitch which forms two small bights used to hook a pair of tackles to a rope."
],
"id": "en-cat's-paw-en-noun-EsT-ntjL",
"links": [
[
"nautical",
"nautical"
],
[
"twist",
"twist"
],
[
"variant",
"variant"
],
[
"lark's-foot",
"lark's-foot"
],
[
"hitch",
"hitch"
],
[
"form",
"form"
],
[
"two",
"two"
],
[
"small",
"small"
],
[
"bight",
"bight"
],
[
"use",
"use"
],
[
"hook",
"hook"
],
[
"pair",
"pair"
],
[
"tackle",
"tackle"
],
[
"rope",
"rope"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(nautical) A twisting variant of the lark's-foot hitch which forms two small bights used to hook a pair of tackles to a rope."
],
"topics": [
"nautical",
"transport"
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1820, John Keats, “Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil. A Story from Boccaccio.”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, stanza XVII, page 57:",
"text": "[T]hese Florentines [...] / In hungry pride and gainful cowardice, / [...] / Quick cat's-paws on the generous stray-away.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Someone or something that comes down quickly upon a victim in the manner of a cat's paw."
],
"id": "en-cat's-paw-en-noun-LHTdQMcw",
"links": [
[
"Someone",
"someone"
],
[
"something",
"something"
],
[
"come",
"come"
],
[
"down",
"down"
],
[
"quickly",
"quickly"
],
[
"victim",
"victim"
],
[
"manner",
"manner"
],
[
"cat",
"cat"
],
[
"paw",
"paw"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively, uncommon) Someone or something that comes down quickly upon a victim in the manner of a cat's paw."
],
"tags": [
"figuratively",
"uncommon"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "American English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Carpentry",
"orig": "en:Carpentry",
"parents": [
"Construction",
"Woodworking",
"Architecture",
"Engineering",
"Crafts",
"Applied sciences",
"Art",
"Technology",
"Society",
"Sciences",
"Culture",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1954 November 10, U.S. Patent Office, Official Gazette, page 321:",
"text": "Filed Dec. 13, 1952. Cat's Paw. For Hand Tools for Pulling Nails and Spikes.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A small crowbar with a handle at a right angle to a blade with a V-shaped notch, principally used by carpenters to remove nails."
],
"id": "en-cat's-paw-en-noun-r-pF8V9h",
"links": [
[
"carpentry",
"carpentry"
],
[
"small",
"small"
],
[
"crowbar",
"crowbar"
],
[
"handle",
"handle"
],
[
"right angle",
"right angle"
],
[
"blade",
"blade"
],
[
"V-shaped",
"V-shaped"
],
[
"notch",
"notch"
],
[
"principally",
"principally"
],
[
"use",
"use"
],
[
"carpenter",
"carpenter"
],
[
"remove",
"remove"
],
[
"nail",
"nail"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(US carpentry) A small crowbar with a handle at a right angle to a blade with a V-shaped notch, principally used by carpenters to remove nails."
],
"tags": [
"US"
],
"topics": [
"business",
"carpentry",
"construction",
"manufacturing"
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "0 4 5 11 8 48 7 3 9 4",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "small crowbar for pulling nails",
"word": "naulanvedin"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 4 5 11 8 48 7 3 9 4",
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "small crowbar for pulling nails",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Kuhfuß"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 4 5 11 8 48 7 3 9 4",
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "gvozdodjór",
"sense": "small crowbar for pulling nails",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "гвоздодёр"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Weapons",
"orig": "en:Weapons",
"parents": [
"Hunting",
"Military",
"Tools",
"Human activity",
"Society",
"Technology",
"Human behaviour",
"All topics",
"Human",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "2 10 5 13 15 12 24 3 13 2",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Tools",
"orig": "en:Tools",
"parents": [
"Technology",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A metal set of claws worn over the hand or wielded in the hand used to remove skin and flesh."
],
"id": "en-cat's-paw-en-noun-PFnVvhzh",
"links": [
[
"weaponry",
"weaponry"
],
[
"metal",
"metal"
],
[
"set",
"set"
],
[
"claw",
"claw"
],
[
"worn",
"worn"
],
[
"hand",
"hand"
],
[
"wield",
"wield"
],
[
"use",
"use"
],
[
"remove",
"remove"
],
[
"skin",
"skin"
],
[
"flesh",
"flesh"
]
],
"qualifier": "torture",
"raw_glosses": [
"(historical weaponry, torture) A metal set of claws worn over the hand or wielded in the hand used to remove skin and flesh."
],
"tags": [
"historical"
],
"topics": [
"engineering",
"government",
"military",
"natural-sciences",
"physical-sciences",
"politics",
"tools",
"war",
"weaponry"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "American English",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Law",
"orig": "en:Law",
"parents": [
"Justice",
"Society",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A supervisor whose reliance on a subordinate's analysis is so complete as to render him or her liable for the subordinate's animus or other misconduct towards a third employee."
],
"id": "en-cat's-paw-en-noun-yGXnTqmM",
"links": [
[
"law",
"law#English"
],
[
"supervisor",
"supervisor"
],
[
"reliance",
"reliance"
],
[
"subordinate",
"subordinate"
],
[
"analysis",
"analysis"
],
[
"complete",
"complete"
],
[
"render",
"render"
],
[
"him",
"him"
],
[
"her",
"her"
],
[
"liable",
"liable"
],
[
"animus",
"animus"
],
[
"other",
"other"
],
[
"misconduct",
"misconduct"
],
[
"third",
"third"
],
[
"employee",
"employee"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(US law) A supervisor whose reliance on a subordinate's analysis is so complete as to render him or her liable for the subordinate's animus or other misconduct towards a third employee."
],
"tags": [
"US"
],
"topics": [
"law"
]
},
{
"categories": [
{
"_dis": "0 5 3 3 15 12 19 3 25 15",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 7 2 2 11 13 12 2 42 9",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Entries with translation boxes",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "0 5 3 2 15 10 17 2 30 15",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "0 5 1 1 16 9 18 1 35 14",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 6 2 3 9 11 10 5 46 8",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 6 2 3 11 11 12 2 41 10",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with German translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 6 3 4 8 10 11 6 43 9",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 4 5 5 9 13 12 4 38 10",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 6 2 2 11 8 12 2 46 9",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Terms with Russian translations",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 3 2 2 11 8 14 3 44 12",
"kind": "lifeform",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Bivalves",
"orig": "en:Bivalves",
"parents": [
"Mollusks",
"Animals",
"Lifeforms",
"All topics",
"Life",
"Fundamental",
"Nature"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "1 4 3 4 11 8 14 3 42 10",
"kind": "lifeform",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Commelinids",
"orig": "en:Commelinids",
"parents": [
"Plants",
"Lifeforms",
"All topics",
"Life",
"Fundamental",
"Nature"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "0 16 0 1 8 6 0 10 55 3",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "People",
"orig": "en:People",
"parents": [
"Human",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Any of several species of North American freshwater mussels of the genus Epioblasma, especially E. obliquata."
],
"hypernyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 16 7 8 6 16 7 7 28 5",
"sense": "carpenter's tool",
"word": "nail puller"
}
],
"id": "en-cat's-paw-en-noun-8H2~vGrI",
"links": [
[
"several",
"several"
],
[
"species",
"species"
],
[
"North America",
"North America"
],
[
"freshwater",
"freshwater"
],
[
"mussel",
"mussel"
],
[
"genus",
"genus"
],
[
"especially",
"especially"
]
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 17 8 9 6 17 8 8 24 5",
"sense": "carpenter's tool",
"word": "cat's claw"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 4 0 3 92 0",
"sense": "American legal term",
"word": "rubber stamp"
}
]
},
{
"categories": [],
"glosses": [
"Any of several species of Australian bloodworts of the genus Anigozanthos, especially A. humilis."
],
"id": "en-cat's-paw-en-noun-ZIezhYKd",
"links": [
[
"several",
"several"
],
[
"species",
"species"
],
[
"Australia",
"Australia"
],
[
"bloodwort",
"bloodwort"
],
[
"genus",
"genus"
],
[
"especially",
"especially"
]
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 4 1 1 14 8 15 1 7 50",
"sense": "Australian bloodworts",
"word": "kangaroo paw"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 2 1 1 2 1 1 37 55",
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "bloodwort of the genus Anigozanthos",
"word": "kenguruntassu"
}
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "cat's paw"
},
{
"_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0",
"word": "catspaw"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"cat's-paw"
],
"word": "cat's-paw"
}
{
"categories": [
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English nouns",
"English nouns with irregular plurals",
"Entries with translation boxes",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Hungarian translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"en:Bivalves",
"en:Commelinids",
"en:People",
"en:Tools"
],
"etymology_text": "From cat + paw. In most senses, due to a resemblance of shape. In its senses as a pawn to another's interests or analysis, variant of earlier cat's-foot, derived from European tales of a monkey (attested as early as 1456 but sometimes misattributed to the 16th-century monkey of Pope Julius II) who used a sleeping puppy or cat's foot to rake hot chestnuts out of a fire, taken as a metaphor for rulers' ill use of their subjects. Now usually understood in light of Jean de La Fontaine's 1679 fable of the \"The Monkey and the Cat\" (sometimes misattributed to Aesop), in which the monkey fools the cat into removing the chestnuts through flattery and promises of shared reward. The cat removes the chestnuts one by one, burning his paw while the monkey eats each in turn. A maid then enters and chases them both away. La Fontaine's moral concludes that princes should not endure real losses for mere flattery from their king.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "cat's-paws",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
},
{
"form": "cats'-paws",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "s",
"2": "cats'-paws"
},
"expansion": "cat's-paw (plural cat's-paws or cats'-paws)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"hypernyms": [
{
"sense": "one used for another's purposes",
"word": "pawn"
},
{
"sense": "one used for another's purposes",
"word": "puppet"
},
{
"sense": "one used for another's purposes",
"word": "tool"
},
{
"sense": "carpenter's tool",
"word": "nail puller"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"word": "monkey's paw"
},
{
"word": "an unrelated metaphor from a separate story"
},
{
"word": "cat's eye"
},
{
"word": "a feature of gemstones"
},
{
"word": "monkey's fist"
},
{
"word": "an unrelated type of knot"
},
{
"word": "flying monkeys"
},
{
"word": "in popular psychology"
},
{
"word": "people acting on behalf of a narcissist"
},
{
"word": "denailer"
},
{
"word": "a power tool used to remove nails"
},
{
"word": "dogsbody"
},
{
"word": "a person who does menial work"
},
{
"word": "pull someone's chestnuts out of the fire"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"glosses": [
"A paw of a cat."
],
"links": [
[
"paw",
"paw"
],
[
"cat",
"cat"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1622, Mateo Alemán, translated by James Mabbe, The Rogue, volume II, page 167:",
"text": "To take the Cat by the foote, and therewith rake the coales out of the Ouen.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1657, Michael Hawke, Killing is Murder and No Murder, page 3:",
"text": "These he useth as the Monkey did the Cats paw, to scrape the nuts out of the fire.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1836, Charles Richardson, A New Dictionary of the English Language, s.v. \"Cat\"",
"text": "Cat's-paw, common in vulgar speech, but not in writing."
},
{
"ref": "1939, Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep, page 243:",
"text": "Eddie Mars was behind Geiger, protecting him and using him for a cat's-paw.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2022, Jonathan V. Last, (Please provide the book title or journal name):",
"text": "And for a third thing, Johnson never seemed like he was intent on blowing up NATO because he was a Russian cat’s paw.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Someone who acts in another's interest, (properly) unknowingly or through trickery."
],
"links": [
[
"Someone",
"someone"
],
[
"act",
"act"
],
[
"another",
"another"
],
[
"interest",
"interest"
],
[
"unknowingly",
"unknowingly"
],
[
"trickery",
"trickery"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively) Someone who acts in another's interest, (properly) unknowingly or through trickery."
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "tool"
},
{
"word": "dupe"
}
],
"tags": [
"figuratively"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned",
"en:Nautical"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1769, William Falconer, An Universal Dictionary of the Marine:",
"text": "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.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1845, Thomas Hood, The Captain’s Cow:",
"text": "No, not a cat’s paw anywhere:\nHold up your finger in the air\nYou could n’t feel a breath;\nFor why, in yonder storm that burst,\nThe wind that blew so hard at first\nHad blown itself to death.",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:",
"text": "“Now,” said Hands, “look there; there’s a pet bit for to beach a ship in. Fine flat sand, never a cat’s paw, trees all around of it, and flowers a-blowing like a garding on that old ship.”",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "1930, Arthur Ransome, Swallows and Amazons:",
"text": "There was very little wind, though now and again a catspaw hurrying from the south helped them on their way and darkened the smooth small waves.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A minor breeze that ripples the surface of a body of water."
],
"links": [
[
"nautical",
"nautical"
],
[
"minor",
"minor"
],
[
"breeze",
"breeze"
],
[
"ripple",
"ripple"
],
[
"surface",
"surface"
],
[
"body",
"body"
],
[
"water",
"water"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(nautical) A minor breeze that ripples the surface of a body of water."
],
"topics": [
"nautical",
"transport"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"en:Nautical"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1840, Richard Henry Dana, chapter XXXIII, in Two Years Before the Mast, page 125:",
"text": "...when the mate came to shake the catspaw out of the down-haul...",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A twisting variant of the lark's-foot hitch which forms two small bights used to hook a pair of tackles to a rope."
],
"links": [
[
"nautical",
"nautical"
],
[
"twist",
"twist"
],
[
"variant",
"variant"
],
[
"lark's-foot",
"lark's-foot"
],
[
"hitch",
"hitch"
],
[
"form",
"form"
],
[
"two",
"two"
],
[
"small",
"small"
],
[
"bight",
"bight"
],
[
"use",
"use"
],
[
"hook",
"hook"
],
[
"pair",
"pair"
],
[
"tackle",
"tackle"
],
[
"rope",
"rope"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(nautical) A twisting variant of the lark's-foot hitch which forms two small bights used to hook a pair of tackles to a rope."
],
"topics": [
"nautical",
"transport"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"English terms with uncommon senses"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1820, John Keats, “Isabella; or, The Pot of Basil. A Story from Boccaccio.”, in Lamia, Isabella, the Eve of St. Agnes, and Other Poems, London: […] [Thomas Davison] for Taylor and Hessey, […], →OCLC, stanza XVII, page 57:",
"text": "[T]hese Florentines [...] / In hungry pride and gainful cowardice, / [...] / Quick cat's-paws on the generous stray-away.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"Someone or something that comes down quickly upon a victim in the manner of a cat's paw."
],
"links": [
[
"Someone",
"someone"
],
[
"something",
"something"
],
[
"come",
"come"
],
[
"down",
"down"
],
[
"quickly",
"quickly"
],
[
"victim",
"victim"
],
[
"manner",
"manner"
],
[
"cat",
"cat"
],
[
"paw",
"paw"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(figuratively, uncommon) Someone or something that comes down quickly upon a victim in the manner of a cat's paw."
],
"tags": [
"figuratively",
"uncommon"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"American English",
"English terms with quotations",
"en:Carpentry"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "1954 November 10, U.S. Patent Office, Official Gazette, page 321:",
"text": "Filed Dec. 13, 1952. Cat's Paw. For Hand Tools for Pulling Nails and Spikes.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A small crowbar with a handle at a right angle to a blade with a V-shaped notch, principally used by carpenters to remove nails."
],
"links": [
[
"carpentry",
"carpentry"
],
[
"small",
"small"
],
[
"crowbar",
"crowbar"
],
[
"handle",
"handle"
],
[
"right angle",
"right angle"
],
[
"blade",
"blade"
],
[
"V-shaped",
"V-shaped"
],
[
"notch",
"notch"
],
[
"principally",
"principally"
],
[
"use",
"use"
],
[
"carpenter",
"carpenter"
],
[
"remove",
"remove"
],
[
"nail",
"nail"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(US carpentry) A small crowbar with a handle at a right angle to a blade with a V-shaped notch, principally used by carpenters to remove nails."
],
"tags": [
"US"
],
"topics": [
"business",
"carpentry",
"construction",
"manufacturing"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"English terms with historical senses",
"en:Weapons"
],
"glosses": [
"A metal set of claws worn over the hand or wielded in the hand used to remove skin and flesh."
],
"links": [
[
"weaponry",
"weaponry"
],
[
"metal",
"metal"
],
[
"set",
"set"
],
[
"claw",
"claw"
],
[
"worn",
"worn"
],
[
"hand",
"hand"
],
[
"wield",
"wield"
],
[
"use",
"use"
],
[
"remove",
"remove"
],
[
"skin",
"skin"
],
[
"flesh",
"flesh"
]
],
"qualifier": "torture",
"raw_glosses": [
"(historical weaponry, torture) A metal set of claws worn over the hand or wielded in the hand used to remove skin and flesh."
],
"tags": [
"historical"
],
"topics": [
"engineering",
"government",
"military",
"natural-sciences",
"physical-sciences",
"politics",
"tools",
"war",
"weaponry"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"American English",
"en:Law"
],
"glosses": [
"A supervisor whose reliance on a subordinate's analysis is so complete as to render him or her liable for the subordinate's animus or other misconduct towards a third employee."
],
"links": [
[
"law",
"law#English"
],
[
"supervisor",
"supervisor"
],
[
"reliance",
"reliance"
],
[
"subordinate",
"subordinate"
],
[
"analysis",
"analysis"
],
[
"complete",
"complete"
],
[
"render",
"render"
],
[
"him",
"him"
],
[
"her",
"her"
],
[
"liable",
"liable"
],
[
"animus",
"animus"
],
[
"other",
"other"
],
[
"misconduct",
"misconduct"
],
[
"third",
"third"
],
[
"employee",
"employee"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(US law) A supervisor whose reliance on a subordinate's analysis is so complete as to render him or her liable for the subordinate's animus or other misconduct towards a third employee."
],
"tags": [
"US"
],
"topics": [
"law"
]
},
{
"categories": [
"Entries using missing taxonomic name (genus)",
"Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)"
],
"glosses": [
"Any of several species of North American freshwater mussels of the genus Epioblasma, especially E. obliquata."
],
"links": [
[
"several",
"several"
],
[
"species",
"species"
],
[
"North America",
"North America"
],
[
"freshwater",
"freshwater"
],
[
"mussel",
"mussel"
],
[
"genus",
"genus"
],
[
"especially",
"especially"
]
]
},
{
"categories": [
"Entries using missing taxonomic name (genus)",
"Entries using missing taxonomic name (species)"
],
"glosses": [
"Any of several species of Australian bloodworts of the genus Anigozanthos, especially A. humilis."
],
"links": [
[
"several",
"several"
],
[
"species",
"species"
],
[
"Australia",
"Australia"
],
[
"bloodwort",
"bloodwort"
],
[
"genus",
"genus"
],
[
"especially",
"especially"
]
]
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"sense": "one unwittingly used for another's purposes",
"word": "dupe"
},
{
"sense": "carpenter's tool",
"word": "cat's claw"
},
{
"sense": "American legal term",
"word": "rubber stamp"
},
{
"sense": "Australian bloodworts",
"word": "kangaroo paw"
},
{
"word": "cat's paw"
},
{
"word": "catspaw"
}
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "paw of a cat",
"word": "kissan käpälä"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "paw of a cat",
"word": "kissan tassu"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "paw of a cat",
"tags": [
"feminine"
],
"word": "Katzenpfote"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "gōngjùrén",
"sense": "someone who acts in another's interest",
"word": "工具人"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "someone who acts in another's interest",
"word": "apuri"
},
{
"code": "hu",
"lang": "Hungarian",
"sense": "someone who acts in another's interest",
"word": "eszköze"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "nautical: minor breeze",
"word": "tuulenvire"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "small crowbar for pulling nails",
"word": "naulanvedin"
},
{
"code": "de",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "small crowbar for pulling nails",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "Kuhfuß"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "gvozdodjór",
"sense": "small crowbar for pulling nails",
"tags": [
"masculine"
],
"word": "гвоздодёр"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "bloodwort of the genus Anigozanthos",
"word": "kenguruntassu"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"cat's-paw"
],
"word": "cat's-paw"
}
Download raw JSONL data for cat's-paw meaning in English (12.3kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-12-04 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.