gudgeon
Freshwater bait fish
A gudgeon is a small freshwater fish often used as bait, or more broadly, any small fish of little value.
From this comes the figurative sense: a gullible person easily deceived or taken advantage of—someone who swallows bait.
He played the gudgeon to her schemes.
In machinery, a gudgeon is a pivot pin or the socket that receives a pintle, as on a hinge or rudder.
Small freshwater fish
- freshwaterNon-saline aquatic environment
- streamSteady continuous flow
- riverbedFloor beneath flowing water
- bottom-feederCreature eating from below
scales · fins · gills · aquatic · habitat · schooling · forage · swim
Unwise, gullible person
- suckerEasily fooled person
- patsyEasily deceived victim
- markVisible impression or sign
- gullibleEasily deceived
naive · swindle · deceive · con · trick · cheat · target · victim
minnow
Small freshwater fish
- freshwaterNon-saline aquatic environment
- streamSteady continuous flow
- riverbedFloor beneath flowing water
bottom-feeder · scales · fins · gills · aquatic · habitat · schooling · forage · swim · species
fool
Unwise, gullible person
gullible · naive · swindle · deceive · con · trick · cheat · target · victim · stooge
lure
Thing that tempts
tackle · line · cast · reel · rod · swivel · float · sinker · chum · net
pin
Pointed metal fastener
hinge · socket · spindle · bushing · trunnion · journal · fulcrum · swivel · sleeve · bore
- bottom feederscatfish, loach, sturgeon, suckerfish, flounder
- freshwater fishsalmon, trout, bass, catfish, carp
- Cyprinidscarp, common carp, goldfish, koi, minnow
- steeringsteering wheel, steering column, steering rack, rack and pinion, power steering
- suckerssucker, lollipop, Dum Dum, Tootsie Pop, all-day sucker
- rudder partsblade, stock, tiller, pintle
gudgeontrickster
Cunning deceiver in myth
deceiver · con artist · skeptic · swindler · sharper
gudgeonpike
Long battlefield spear
predator fish · perch · bass · game fish · apex predator