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Definition of cat's–paw
cat's–paws
1 : a light air that ruffles the surface of the water in irregular patches during a calm
2 [from the fable of the monkey that used a cat's paw to draw chestnuts from the fire] : one used by another as a tool : dupe the … government became the cat's–paw for foreign powers — D. J. Boorstin
3 : a hitch knot formed with two eyes for attaching a line to a hook — see knot illustration
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First Known Use of cat's–paw
circa 1769
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