I'm looking for a word that I remember reading. The word was describing a child that was being used as a unattackable front-man because attacking the beliefs expressed by the child would not be seen as attacking the belief but rather as attacking the child. Since adults attacking children is taboo, this makes trying to debate the child to express alternate beliefs very difficult.
update 4/20/2020
All I can specifically remember about the article in which I read the word is:
The article was about Greta Thunberg
I remember looking the word up in some on-line dictionary.
- I haven't cleared my Google search history but can't find the word that way.
- I have scoured my history but I can't find the article or word. :-(
After scouring my browser for the umpteenth time I finally found the word, actually a phrase cat's paw.
Very sorry, but I conflated the word with the context in which it was used in an article about Greta Thunberg. I have not been trying to deceive anyone but I felt that I needed to be honest and explain the mistake. I spent 15-20 hours looking for the word too.
cat's paw @ Marion-Webster - one used by another as a tool
cat's paw @ Collins - a person used by another to do dangerous, distasteful, or unlawful work; dupe; from the tale of the monkey who used the cat's foot to rake the chestnuts out of the fire
So I read the word in the context that I described, but gave the wrong meaning. :-(