cat's-paw Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a person used by another to gain an end
    instrument; pawn.
  2. noun a hitch in the middle of rope that has two eyes into which tackle can be hooked

WordNet

Cat's"-paw` noun
Definitions
  1. (Naut.) (a) A light transitory air which ruffles the surface of the water during a calm, or the ripples made by such a puff of air. (b) A particular hitch or turn in the bight of a rope, into which a tackle may be hooked.
  2. A dupe; a tool; one who, or that which, is used by another as an instrument to a accomplish his purposes. ✍ In this sense the term refers to the fable of the monkey using the cat's paw to draw the roasting chestnuts out of the fire.

Webster 1913