What does cat's-paw mean?

Definitions for cat's-paw
cat's-paw

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word cat's-paw.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. instrument, pawn, cat's-pawnoun

    a person used by another to gain an end

  2. cat's-pawnoun

    a hitch in the middle of rope that has two eyes into which tackle can be hooked

ChatGPT

  1. cat's-paw

    A cat's-paw is a person who is used by another to carry out an unfavorable or unpleasant task, essentially becoming a tool or pawn in their plans. This term is derived from a fable in which a monkey uses a cat's paw to pull chestnuts from a fire, avoiding being burnt itself. A cat's-paw can also refer to a type of knot used in sailing, or a type of wind pattern.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Cat's-pawnoun

    a light transitory air which ruffles the surface of the water during a calm, or the ripples made by such a puff of air

  2. Cat's-pawnoun

    a particular hitch or turn in the bight of a rope, into which a tackle may be hooked

  3. Cat's-pawnoun

    a dupe; a tool; one who, or that which, is used by another as an instrument to a accomplish his purposes

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. cat's-paw

    A light air perceived at a distance in a calm, by the impressions made on the surface of the sea, which it sweeps very gently, and then passes away, being equally partial and transitory. Old superstitious seamen are seen to scratch the backstays with their nails, and whistle to invoke even these cat's-paws, the general forerunner of the steadier breeze. Cat's-paw is also a name given to a particular twisting hitch, made in the bight of a rope, so as to induce two small bights, in order to hook a tackle on them both. Also, good-looking seamen employed to entice volunteers.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of cat's-paw in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of cat's-paw in Pythagorean Numerology is: 2


Translations for cat's-paw

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"cat's-paw." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 22 Dec. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/cat%27s-paw>.

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