cat's-paw

[ kats-paw ]

/ ˈkætsˌpɔ /

a person used to serve the purposes of another; tool.

Nautical.

a hitch made in the bight of a rope so that two eyes are formed to hold the hook of one block of a tackle.
a light breeze that ruffles the surface of the water over a comparatively small area.
the small area ruffled by such a breeze.

Origin of cat's-paw

First recorded in 1650–60

Letters are found in Mr. Catspaw's room addressed to Tengelyi; and, besides, here is the notary's stick!

The Village Notary |Jzsef Etvs
Catspaw: To apply the purchase or tackle to the fall of another.

The Gunner's Examiner |Harold E. Cloke
When he came to the throne he found himself a catspaw between his natural brothers and ambitious nobles.

The Land of The Blessed Virgin; Sketches and Impressions in Andalusia |William Somerset Maugham
If A acted of his own motive, he is a knave; if A did not act of his own motive, he is a catspaw.

Logic, Inductive and Deductive |William Minto

Mr. Catspaw snatched the papers from him and ran back, while the Pandurs hastened to the spot and surrounded Viola.

The Village Notary |Jzsef Etvs

cat's-paw

a person used by another as a tool; dupe

nautical a hitch in the form of two loops, or eyes, in the bight of a line, used for attaching it to a hook

a pattern of ripples on the surface of water caused by a light wind

(sense 1) C18: so called from the tale of the monkey who used a cat's paw to draw chestnuts out of a fire