lay figure

plural lay figures

1. A jointed model of the human body used by artists, or to display clothes.

   Near-synonyms: dummy, mannequin

   2 more examples

   ‘I have a great mind to break all your gashly images about the head of your fine Miss, in her silks and satins;’—mistaking his lay-figure for a living model of the highest sort.

   1828, JT Smith, Nollekens and His Times, Century Hutchinson, published 1986, page 243

   ‘I rather thought I was useful as an audience, but only as a lay figure is useful to a painter: both can be put aside when no longer required.’

   1984, Anita Brookner, Hotel du Lac, Penguin, published 2016, page 76

   Synonyms: dummy, mannequin

2. An unimportant person; a character (especially in fiction) who lacks individuality and is one-dimensional.