noun
stooge
stooj
noun
1
Someone who lets themselves be used by others, usually to take the blame or do the dirty work.
"He was made the stooge for a scheme he barely understood."
"Critics dismissed the minister as a stooge for more powerful figures behind the scenes."
2
A comedian's straight man, or a magician's secret assistant planted in the audience.
"The magician's stooge pretended to be a random volunteer from the crowd."
How to Use Stooge
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishSomeone being used, often without fully realising it, to serve someone else's interests.
Common mistake
Almost always used dismissively or with contempt — calling someone a stooge is an insult, not a neutral job description.
Common pairings
a stooge for
mere stooge
the magician's stooge
Word Forms
stooged past tense, stooges plural, stooges singular
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He was made the _____ for a scheme he barely understood.
Etymology
Origin uncertain — possibly from Russian студент (studént, "student"), which once meant a stage assistant to a comedian; it may have come into English via Yiddish theatre slang.