meat puppet

In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.

Meaning · English

A newsreader, especially one who is not a reporter.

Register: derogatory, slang

Where it’s used: Used American English

Examples

I played what Penn likes to refer to as “the meat puppet.” It’s a term he picked up from television cameramen, who invented it as a description of some of the beautiful but vacant people who recite the local news.

Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)

Sources & notes

Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).

Common questions

What does “meat puppet” mean?

A newsreader, especially one who is not a reporter.

Is “meat puppet” formal or informal?

meat puppet is generally derogatory, slang.