cat's paw 

A Guinea pig i.e. someone to do the dangerous work.

A monkey wanted some chestnuts which were roasting in the ashes of the fireplace. A cat was sleeping on the hearth. To avoid getting burned, the monkey used the cat's paw to drag the chestnuts out of the ashes.

cat's paw by Earl F. Parrish February 28, 2006

Under the Cat's Paw 

Very drunk, specifically on gin.

A result of the "gin craze," British government tried to stem the flow of gin with prohibitive taxes and rules, which drove the gin scene underground during 18th-century England. Exploiting a loop-hole in these new regulations, where a bartender couldn't be prosecuted for serving gin if the police couldn't be sure exactly which bartender served it, wooden plaques shaped like a black cat (hence "Old Tom gin") were mounted on the outside wall of some pubs. These cat plaques had little paws, and under the cat's paw was a slot to put money in and a small lead tube. From the tube would come a shot of gin, poured by the bartender, who remained anonymous from inside the pub.

Today, "under the cat's paw," simply means to be very drunk on gin, perhaps to great excess, as that is where most of these gin-crazed bar-patrons would have spent most of their time.

"I'm going to be under the cat's paw tonight!"

"Billy, if you don't slow down on those martinis, you'll be under the cat's paw in no time!"

"I can't remember a thing- I was absolutely under the cat's paw!"

Under the Cat's Paw by PW Magnussen January 10, 2020

cats paw 

1. A person used by another person.
2. Being used as a tool or a bitch.

Your such a cats paw to everyone.
Whats wrong with this cats paw person.
Your being a cats paw to your friends.

cats paw by Bloodz13 February 2, 2009

catspaw 

The current leader in moo hacking.

That kid was just a script kiddie, he was no Catspaw.

catspaw by z September 27, 2003

catspaw 

noun. social engineer that utilizes community-based online resources (such as Blogs, Forums, MOOs, Internet Journals, etc.) in order to disseminate ideas that will allow the social engineer to eventually dominate the world

verb. to social engineer community-based online resources in order to disseminate ideas that will allow the subject to eventually dominate the world

(noun) Peter Wiggin is the archetypal catspaw.

(verb) Peter catspawed his way into the position of Hegemon with his online persona, Locke.

catspaw by Rogue April 12, 2005