stooge
stooge Lexical Profile
stooge Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A subordinate or compliant person used by another to do unpleasant, menial, or underhanded work.
"Critics accused the newly appointed director of being a mere stooge for the corporate board."
A performer in a comedy act whose role is to feed lines to the principal comedian and serve as the butt of jokes.
"In classic vaudeville routines, the stooge often stood in the audience pretending to be a random heckler."
An informant or spy placed within a group or organization to report on its activities to authorities.
"The union leaders suspected that management had planted a stooge inside their bargaining committee."
• verb
To act as a subordinate, puppet, or comedic foil for another person.
"He spent his early career stooging for famous stage magicians before launching his own show."
British To move about, cruise, or patrol aimlessly or at a leisurely pace (originally of an aircraft).
"We spent the afternoon stooging around the harbor waiting for the tide to turn."
• Rhymes for stooge
Word Origin & Etymology
Originating as early 20th-century American theatrical slang for a comedian's stage assistant or foil, it is likely an alteration of 'student' (in the sense of an apprentice or understudy).