GUINEA PIG • DICCIONARIO INGLES.COM • Definition of Guinea pig

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noun

Guinea pig n.

(Zool.) A small Brazilian rodent (Cavia porcellus or Cavia cobaya), about seven inches in length and usually of a white color, with spots of orange and black. Called also cavy. It is the domesticated form of the wild cavy, often kept as a pet and used commonly as an experimental animal in laboratory research.

Hence, (figuratively): Any animal or person used in an experiment; also applied to people who are unwillingly or unknowingly subjected by authorities to policies or procedures which might cause bodily or mental harm.

A contemptuous sobriquet. (Obs.)

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Etymology of 'Guinea pig'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Guinea pig" Quotes from Famous Books

... more of the bourbon and soda. Guinea pigs didn't drink bourbon and soda, he told himself. He was better off than a guinea pig. He was happier than a guinea pig. But he couldn't imagine any guinea pig in the world, no matter how heartbroken, feeling any ...

— Supermind • Gordon Randall Garrett

... The rabbit or guinea pig is used for demonstration in the laboratory. Guinea pigs respond to the virus more rapidly than do other animals and therefore they are especially useful in diagnostic work. Rabbits, however, on account ...

— Mother's Remedies - Over One Thousand Tried and Tested Remedies from Mothers - of the United States and Canada • T. J. Ritter

... in England," said Mrs. Chilton, "I saw, exhibited in a cage about five feet square, rats, mice, cats and dogs, a hawk, a guinea pig, a rabbit, some pigeons, an owl and some little birds, all together, as amiable and merry as possible. Miss Puss sat in the midst, purring. The others ran over her, or flew upon her head. She had no thought of hurting them, and they were not ...

— True Stories about Cats and Dogs • Eliza Lee Follen

... man in the show took a rabbit, a guinea pig and a lot of silk ribbon out of Daddy's ...

— Daddy Takes Us to the Garden - The Daddy Series for Little Folks • Howard R. Garis

... couple of hours during which time they largely held silence, immersed in their own thoughts, Dr. Braun called out, "Patricia, Ross, I should tender my apologies. It was my less than brilliant idea to find the average man and use him as a guinea pig." ...

— The Common Man • Guy McCord (AKA Dallas McCord Reynolds)

Words linked to "Guinea pig" : cavy, person, case, soul, somebody, someone, subject, individual