Pull the chestnuts out of the fire 來自法國著名的寓言作家拉•封丹的《猴子與貓》。
cat's paw 與 Pull the chestnuts out of the fire 是同源成語,但兩個成語無論在結(jié)構(gòu)上或意義上都不相同,前者比喻充當別人的工具或爪牙,后者常用來表示 to do sth dangerous for others 的意思。
這個成語也作 to pull sb's chestnuts,或者 to put the chestnuts for sb.
eg:I had pulled the chestnuts out of the fire for him on several occasions and was unwilling to do it again.
"They are pulling chestnuts out of the fire for the imperialists without knowing it You can't make me your catspaw to pull your chestnuts out of the fire..."