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figurehead

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
fig·ure·head  (fgyr-hd)
n.
1. A carved figure on the prow of a ship.
2. A person given a position of nominal leadership but having no actual authority.

figurehead [ˈfɪgəˌhɛd]
n
1. a person nominally having a prominent position, but no real authority
2. (Transport / Nautical Terms) a carved bust or full-length figure at the upper end of the stems of some sailing vessels
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Noun1.figureheadfigurehead - a person used as a cover for some questionable activity
beguiler, cheater, deceiver, trickster, slicker, cheat - someone who leads you to believe something that is not true
2.figurehead - figure on the bow of some sailing vessels
figure - a model of a bodily form (especially of a person); "he made a figure of Santa Claus"

figurehead
noun nominal head, leader in name only, titular head, front man, name, token, dummy, puppet, mouthpiece, cipher, nonentity, straw man (chiefly U.S.), man of straw The President will be little more than a figurehead.
Translations
figurehead [ˈfɪgəhed] N (on ship) → mascarón m de proa (fig) → testaferro m
figurehead [ˈfɪgərhɛd] n
[ship] → figure f de proue
[organization] → chef mf de file
figure-hugging [ˈfɪgərhʌgɪŋ] adj [dress, top] → moulant(e)
figure of eight n (British)huit m
figure of fun nobjet m de risée
figure of speech n (= rhetorical device) → figure f de style
It's just a figure of speech
BUT C'est juste une façon de parler.
figure skater npatineur/euse m/f artistique
figure skating n (competitive)figures en patinage)fpl imposées >; (in display)patinage m artistique
figurehead [ˈfɪgəˌhɛd] n (Naut) → polena (fig) → figura rappresentativa (pej) → prestanome m/f inv
figurehead [ˈfɪgəˌhɛd] n (Naut) → polena (fig) → figura rappresentativa (pej) → prestanome m/f inv


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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
During the whole of that period Napoleon, who seems to us to have been the leader of all these movements- as the figurehead of a ship may seem to a savage to guide the vessel- acted like a child who, holding a couple of strings inside a carriage, thinks he is driving it.
The spectral figurehead, reversed in its position, glancing backwards, seemed to mock the impatient attitude of the warrior.
Arthur himself, in many of the romances, was degraded from his position of the bravest knight to be the inactive figurehead of a brilliant court; and the only really historical element in the story, his struggle against the Saxons, was thrust far into the background, while all the emphasis was laid on the romantic achievements of the single knights.
 
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