guinea pigs
Fluffy pocket pets
Guinea pigs are small, docile rodents kept as pets and used extensively in laboratory research.
They're native to South America and have no relation to pigs or Guinea—the name's origin is obscure.
Figuratively, a guinea pig is any test subject for an experiment or trial: We were guinea pigs for the new software.
The kids volunteered to be guinea pigs for my recipe.
- cavyTailless South American rodent
- rodentsGnawing mammal order
- petDomesticated household companion
- lettuceLeafy salad vegetable
- hamstersSmall burrowing pet rodents
popcorning · capybara · vitamin C · scurvy · hutch · rabbits · chinchillas · animal welfare · carrot · water bottle · floor time · rats · feeding · hay · timothy hay · experimentation · squeaking · mammal
guinea pigsresearchers
Those who study systematically
experimenters · scientists · control group · lab technicians · investigators
guinea pigsknown quantities
Established, measurable factors
tried and true · safe bets · sure things · battle-tested · time-tested