Meanings
patsy1
plural patsies
- derogatoryinformalA 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, →ISSNSynonyms: sucker
- A conspirator, secretly designated by co-conspirators to take full blame and punishment for a wrongdoing, particularly an assassination; a fall guy.
present singular third person patsies · participle present patsying · participle past patsied · past patsied
- informalintransitiveTo mess around; to waste time.
I was in no mood for patsying around, and I let him have it with both barrels.
2013, Tony Kelly, Red Card: The Soccer Star Who Lost it All to Gambling, page 105
Patsy2
alternative Patsie
- A diminutive of the female given name Patricia.
- A diminutive of the male given name Patrick.
- A diminutive of the female given name Martha.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA person who is easily manipulated, victimized, or made to take the blame for something.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
patsy · noun, verb
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].
Full word history & related roots →Patsy · proper noun
From the clipping of Patricia or Patrick + -sy (hypocoristic suffix).
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian балама
- балама (balama)a person who is taken advantage of
Czech moula, trouba
- moulaa person who is taken advantage of
- troubaa person who is taken advantage of
- jelimáneka person who is taken advantage of
Dutch zondebok
- zondeboka person who is taken advantage of
Finnish syntipukki, uhri
- syntipukkia person who is taken advantage of
- uhria person who is taken advantage of
French lampiste, pigeon
- lampistea person who is taken advantage of
- pigeona person who is taken advantage of
German Sündenbock, Buhmann
- Sündenbocka person who is taken advantage of
- Buhmanna person who is taken advantage of
- Prügelknabea person who is taken advantage of
- Naivlinga person who is taken advantage of
- Einfaltspinsela person who is taken advantage of
- Gelackmeiertera person who is taken advantage of
- Simpela person who is taken advantage of
Hebrew פראייר
- פראייר (frayer)a person who is taken advantage of
Hungarian balek, palimadár
- baleka person who is taken advantage of
- palimadára person who is taken advantage of
Icelandic blóraböggull
- blóraböggulla person who is taken advantage of
Italian capro espiatorio, cornuto m pollo
- capro espiatorioa person who is taken advantage of
- cornuto m polloa person who is taken advantage of
- fessoa person who is taken advantage of
- zimbelloa person who is taken advantage of
Norwegian Bokmål syndebukk
- syndebukka person who is taken advantage of
Russian простофиля
- простофиля (prostofilja)a person who is taken advantage of
Spanish cabeza de turco, primo
- cabeza de turcoa person who is taken advantage of
- primoa person who is taken advantage of
- pardilloa person who is taken advantage of
Swedish driftkucku
- driftkuckua person who is taken advantage of
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
patsy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patsy
“patsy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patsy. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “patsy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/patsy.
Source: patsy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.