Apr 7, 2023 · But while many of these terms are self-explanatory or have relatively well-known origins, one piece of Prohibition-era slang stands out among the rest: “stool pigeon”, meaning a police …

The meaning of STOOL PIGEON is a person acting as a decoy or informer; especially : a spy sent into a group to report (as to the police) on its activities.

Stool pigeon What's the meaning of the phrase 'Stool pigeon'? The literal meaning of a stool pigeon is a decoy bird. In the more common figurative meaning a stool pigeon is a police informer, or criminal’s …

Oct 31, 2023 · The phrase stool pigeon first appeared sometime during the early 1800s, with Noah Webster using it to describe a pigeon hunting tactic where a pigeon was tied to a moving stool to …

stool pigeon (n.) "police informer," 1859, American English; earlier "one who betrays the unwary (or is used to betray them)," 1821, earlier "a decoy bird" (1812), from a stool as the movable pole or perch …

stool pigeon A person who betrays others, especially a criminal who informs on other criminals; from the old method of hunting pigeons by decoying them with another bird tethered to a stool.

Apr 16, 2026 · stool pigeon (plural stool pigeons) (originally) A pigeon tied to a stool by a piece of twine, used as a decoy to entice free-flying birds to the ground to be shot or trapped.

STOOL PIGEON definition: 1. a person, often a criminal, who gives information in secret to the police so that they can catch…. Learn more.

Definition of stool pigeon noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

Jul 1, 2024 · In American underworld slang, a stool pigeon is a police informer. The stool is puzzling to most. It is a variant on an older word, stale, meaning a decoy or lure. That word comes from the Old …