stool pigeon

English

Etymology

From the act of tying or even nailing a pigeon to a stool to act as a decoy for hunters.

Noun

stool pigeon (plural stool pigeons)

(slang) A decoy or an informer, especially one who is a spy for the police.

Synonyms

stoolie/stooly
See also Thesaurus:informant

Translations

decoy

Finnish: vasikka (fi) (slang)
French: balance (fr) f, indic (fr) m, mouchard (fr) m
Greek: πληροφοριοδότης (el) m (pliroforiodótis), (colloquial) χαφιές (el) m (chafiés)

Italian: pentito (it) m
Polish: kapuś (pl) m, kabel (pl) m
Russian: наседка (ru) f (nasedka), подсадная у́тка (ru) f (podsadnaja útka)

References

2005:Brewers Dictionary of phrase and fable. 17th ed. Edited john Ayto.

Anagrams

not-pologies, notpologies

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