patsy en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈpætsi/
Etymology
The term dates back at least to the 1870s in the United States, close to the peak of Irish migration. The OED's recent revisions link Patsy with Pat and Paddy, the stereotype of the bogtrotter just off the boat. The American Heritage Dictionary and Online Etymology Dictionary quotes the OED it may derive from the Italian pazzo (“madman”), and souther Italian dialect paccio (“fool”). Another possibility is the term derives from Patsy Bolivar, a character in an 1880s minstrel skit who was blamed whenever anything went wrong, in Broadway musical comedies, for example in The Errand Boy [1904] and Patsy in Politics [1907].
Meanings
-
(derogatory, informal) A person who is easily manipulated, victimized, or made to take the blame for something.
And now it's quite obvious that instead of Mr Rumsfeld and Mr. Cheney listening attentively to Mr Blair's sage advice, they've simply been using him as a patsy—a convenient fig-leaf.
2003 March 16, Terry Jones, “Poor Tony Blair wakes up”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
- A conspirator, secretly designated by co-conspirators to take full blame and punishment for a wrongdoing, particularly an assassination; a fall guy.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| patsies | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Synonyms
sucker (by being cheated) · scapegoat (by being blamed) · fall guy (by being blamed)
Translations (33)
es cabeza de turco (a person who is taken advantage of) · de Gelackmeierter (a person who is taken advantage of) · nl zondebok (a person who is taken advantage of) · cs moula (a person who is taken advantage of) · it capro espiatorio (a person who is taken advantage of) · bg балама (a person who is taken advantage of) · fr pigeon (a person who is taken advantage of) · it cornuto m pollo (a person who is taken advantage of) · is blóraböggull (a person who is taken advantage of) · he פראייר (a person who is taken advantage of) · de Simpel (a person who is taken advantage of) · hu palimadár (a person who is taken advantage of) · sh ovca (a person who is taken advantage of) · it fesso (a person who is taken advantage of) · it zimbello (a person who is taken advantage of) · fi uhri (a person who is taken advantage of) · de Prügelknabe (a person who is taken advantage of) · sv driftkucku (a person who is taken advantage of) · de Buhmann (a person who is taken advantage of) · es pardillo (a person who is taken advantage of) · cs jelimánek (a person who is taken advantage of) · de Einfaltspinsel (a person who is taken advantage of) · nb syndebukk (a person who is taken advantage of) · es primo (a person who is taken advantage of) · fi syntipukki (a person who is taken advantage of) · de Sündenbock (a person who is taken advantage of) · fr lampiste (a person who is taken advantage of) · hu balek (a person who is taken advantage of) · cs trouba (a person who is taken advantage of) · ru простофиля (a person who is taken advantage of) · sh žrtva (a person who is taken advantage of) · sh žrtveni jarac (a person who is taken advantage of) · de Naivling (a person who is taken advantage of)