charlie mccarthy

\\| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷məˈkär]thē, -kȧ], ]thi also ]d.ē or ]tē or -i\ noun (plural charlie mccarthys)

Usage: usually capitalized 1st C&M&3dC

Etymology: after Charlie McCarthy, ventriloquist's dummy made famous by Edgar Bergen b1903 American ventriloquist & comedian

: one under the complete domination of another often while enjoying apparent independence : stooge, yes-man, dummy

uses him as a Charlie McCarthy to prove that even a schoolboy can see through the fallacious arithmetic of the opposition — Elmer Davis