A place for interesting words and expressions.
Starting with:
cat's paw, catspaw, cats-paw
1. Someone used as a tool by another.
2. A kind of knot used to connect a rope to an object.
3. A breeze that ruffles the surface of the water over a small area.
The first sense of the term comes from the fable in which a monkey uses a cat to pull roasting chestnuts from a fire. The monkey gobbles up all the nuts while the cat is left with a burnt paw.
The second sense refers to the supposed resemblance of such a knot to a cat's paw.
The origin of the third sense is unknown.
"Prime Minister Tony Blair was reprimanded in the British parliament for his willingness to be the cat's paw of the U.S."
Starting with:
cat's paw, catspaw, cats-paw
1. Someone used as a tool by another.
2. A kind of knot used to connect a rope to an object.
3. A breeze that ruffles the surface of the water over a small area.
The first sense of the term comes from the fable in which a monkey uses a cat to pull roasting chestnuts from a fire. The monkey gobbles up all the nuts while the cat is left with a burnt paw.
The second sense refers to the supposed resemblance of such a knot to a cat's paw.
The origin of the third sense is unknown.
"Prime Minister Tony Blair was reprimanded in the British parliament for his willingness to be the cat's paw of the U.S."
