Catspaw
Catspaw, sometimes called a catsclaw.
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Catspaw is a name applied to a few things, apart from the obvious, of course.
It can be a light breeze on calm water which creates ripples, apparently. Barnacle Bill, who lives with me, had never heard or used the expression in his many years of sailing. Ah, well, learn something new every day.
For carpenters and those who want to attempt do-it-yourself tasks around the house, a catspaw is a heavy-duty metal tool with a V-shaped tip, which is used to extract nails from wood. It is sometimes called a nail puller or a cat’s claw. Hammers which have a head with a hammering end and a V-shaped end are known as claw hammers.
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
In the US, ‘cat’s paw liability’ refers to cases in which”a biased individual passes along negative information about a worker to an ‘unbiased’ decision maker. The ’unbiased’ decision maker then takes a negative action against the worker based on the information provided.”
In UK law an equivalent doctrine, though not known under the ‘cat’s paw liability’ states that “an employer can be held vicariously liable for an employee’s discriminatory dismissal, even if the actual decision-maker is completely unbiased.”
Perhaps the most common application of ‘catspaw’ is as an idiom for a person manipulated by another to do their unpleasant or dishonest bidding. It originates from a 15th century fable which became famous in the 17th century when recounted by the fabulist Jean de la Fontaine (1621-1695)
‘The Monkey and the Cat’ (Le Singe et le Chat) tells how Bertrand the Monkey persuades Raton the Cat that they can share the roasted chestnuts in the fire if Raton will scoop them out of the embers. Raton complies, but as he pulls out the nuts, Bertrand gobbles them up one by one and Raton receives nothing but burnt paws.
The fable is also the source of the expression, ‘to pull someone’s chestnuts out of the fire’ – that is, to undertake a hazardous task for someone else’s benefit.
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The monkey and the cat painting, 1739, by Jean-Baptiste Oudry (1686-1755)
Claw hammer, yes, that's what I call it. I've never heard the words cat's paw in relation to tools. The other larger implement we call a jemmy bar, or just a jemmy.
ReplyDeleteI like the art work.
I think of a jemmy as something a criminal uses!
DeleteI don’t know most of those usages, including for the hammer. It’s just been a plain old claw in my world.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've ever heard catspaw used to describe a victim of manipulation.
DeleteI had several carpenters in my family when I was growing up so I was familiar with these tools and their names. You do find the most interesting topics for your blog posts!
ReplyDeleteThe tools of the trade (any trade) are interesting. There's a subculture to be discovered for every occupation.
DeleteIt is weird how the practical use of tools becomes mixed up with legal terminology. It must have been the days before television, people thought more.
ReplyDeleteYou may be right. Certainly much of what passes for entertainment on television does not encourage thought or analysis.
DeleteUntil now, I only knew the word "cat's paw" as referring to a cat's actual paw. I have only discussed this with English people so far, generally, we don't talk about tools, or at least I don't. There is no direct translation for "clawhammer," and the tool itself has a completely different name. Still, I’ve learned a fair bit about cat's paws—it turns out "cat's claw" also refers to a type of tea or plant in German.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about the plants or the tea, so thank you, Ingrid.
DeleteI had no idea there were so many uses for catspaw other than the obvious
ReplyDeleteIngrid, above, has just added two more!
DeleteOn an interesting piece of artwork. I find it kind of attractive in a strange way. Of course my husband has a hammer and a cat's claw.
ReplyDeleteThe painting is interesting, but not one I'd choose to hang in my house.
ReplyDeleteFor a cat, Raton wasn't the smartest animal in that room!
ReplyDeleteCats are sly but monkeys are cunning.
ReplyDeleteI haven't heard any of those expressions, except for the claw hammer. I'm surprised about the monkey and the cat, it would be more like the cat to say get them yourself, haha.
ReplyDeleteYes, that would seem more likely! 😁
DeleteClaw hammer, yes, never heard of the backend of the hammer called a Cat's Claw. Heard Catspaw and it's one of my favorite Star Trek (original) episodes. Poor Raton
ReplyDeletePoor Raton, indeed. He should have learnt after the first singeing of his paw.
DeleteI have one of these tools but I had no idea what it was called. Thanks for extending my language knowledge (and for making the little things bigger).
ReplyDeleteI have a claw hammer.
ReplyDeleteA good tool
ReplyDeleteI had no idea the word could have so many meanings.
ReplyDeleteIt's fascinating how catspaw has left its paw prints across language, law, folklore, and even the sea, all tracing back to one clever monkey and one rather unfortunate cat.
ReplyDeleteWell, all I knew was claw hammer!
ReplyDeleteAll the best Jan
You find the most interesting information! I had never heard of those legal uses of the term.
ReplyDeletePoor, foolish, Raton. You can add to the definitions the name for a hooked rug pattern...and the name of a particular kind of knot. ;-)
ReplyDelete