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May 9, 2007

This week's theme
Expressions coined after the names of birds

This week's words
stormy petrel
kibitz
clay pigeon
jaywalk
catbird seat

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clay pigeon

noun: Someone in a situation vulnerable to be taken advantage of.

[After a piece of baked clay, called a clay pigeon, thrown into the air as a flying target in shooting practice.]

"Scott Layden is a clay pigeon in a media-intensive situation in which he's blamed for an approach that was carved in stone long before he arrived."
Mark Heisler; Garden Party Lights Go Out; Los Angeles Times; Feb 7, 2003.

See more usage examples of clay pigeon in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

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