Definition of PATSY

patsy

Plural: patsies

Noun

  • A person who is easily fooled or made a scapegoat.
  • a person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of
  • A person who is taken advantage of, especially by being cheated or blamed for something.

Examples

  • Don’t be a patsy in Scrabble; always check your opponent’s word for validity.

Origin / Etymology

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 south 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].

Synonyms

chump, fall guy, fool, gull, mark, mug, soft touch, sucker, dupe, scapegoat

Scrabble Score: 10

patsy: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
patsy: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
patsy: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 10

patsy: valid Words With Friends Word