aunt sally

aunt sal·ly

A a

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [ant, ahnt sal-ee]
- /ænt, ɑnt ˈsæl i/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [ant, ahnt sal-ee]
- /ænt, ɑnt ˈsæl i/

Definitions of aunt sally words

noun aunt sally a figure of an old woman's head, typically with a clay pipe, used in fairgrounds and fêtes as a target for balls or other objects 3
noun aunt sally any person who is a target for insults or criticism 3
noun aunt sally something set up as a target for disagreement or attack 3
noun aunt sally a person or idea seen or set up as an easy target for criticism 3
noun aunt sally a person who is a ready target for criticism or focus for disputation. 1

See all 5 definitions of aunt sally

Information block about the term

Origin of aunt sally

First appearance:

before 1860

One of the 29% newest English words

First recorded in 1860-65; so called from the figure used as a target at fairs

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Aunt sally

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Aunt sally

aunt sally popularity

A pretty common term. Usually people know it’s meaning, but prefer to use a more spread out synonym. About 32% of English native speakers know the meaning and use word.

According to our data about 68% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

aunt sally usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for aunt sally

noun aunt sally

butt — Someone's butt is their bottom.
dupe — duplicate.
fair game — a legitimate or likely object of attack, mockery, etc.: With his fat, round face, the politician was fair game for the cartoonists.
fall guy — an easy victim.
fool — to trick, deceive, or impose on: They tried to fool him.

All 11 Synonyms of aunt sally