guinea

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guinea pig

Someone or something used as the subject of an experiment. Jane used her husband as a guinea pig to try her new baked chicken recipe. Craig earned a little extra money by signing up to be a guinea pig in some local clinical studies.
See also: guinea, pig

serve as a/(one's) guinea pig

To act or function as the object of a test, experiment, or assessment. We'll have a limited release of the product and let this region serve as a guinea pig. If it is received well, we can expand production and distribution to the rest of the country. A: "I have a wild new dish I'd like you to try!" B: "No way! I have no interest in serving as your guinea pig again."
See also: guinea, pig, serve
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

Serve as a guinea pig

Fig. [for someone] to be experimented on; to allow some sort of test to be performed on one. (Alludes to the use of guinea pigs for biological experiments.) Try it on someone else! I don't want to serve as a guinea pig! Jane agreed to serve as a guinea pig. She'll be the one to try out the new flavor of ice cream.
See also: guinea, pig, serve
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

a guinea pig

COMMON If someone is used as a guinea pig, new ideas, methods, or medical treatments are tested on them. The new technology should allow us to study genetic disease without having to use humans as guinea pigs. This is the first time I've cooked this dish so you are my guinea pigs.
See also: guinea, pig
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed.

a ˈguinea pig

a person used in medical or other experiments: Students in fifty schools are to act as guinea pigs for these new teaching methods.
A guinea pig is a small animal with short ears and no tail, often kept as a pet or used for laboratory research.
See also: guinea, pig
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary
See also:
  • a guinea pig
  • damn well
  • be (flat) on (one's) back
  • count in
  • come in
  • come in a certain position
  • come on in
  • flat on (one's) back
  • flat on back
  • DYODW
References in periodicals archive
Kovind also expressed satisfaction on the progress of work on the lines of credit earlier extended to Guinea, including two regional hospitals, the Ministry added.
Guinea pigs can make fantastic pets but like all animals they have very complex needs and should never be the sole responsibility of a child.
The kind passer-by then took the guinea pigs to the nearby RSPCA Southall Clinic.
It is safe to assume that guinea fowl eggs are an important source of dietary cholesterol and theorized to contain slightly more cholesterol than domestic chicken, but a lot less than duck, goose and turkey and quail eggs.
"If someone has lost a guinea pig and it's showing signs of being very down, off its food, then that's where I come in.
Dr Mahathir and his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali were greeted by several Malaysian businessmen from the Malaysian Association of Papua New Guinea at the red carpet in front of the Stanley Hotel here.
Five of eight patients reported exposure to guinea pigs.
A Blue Faced Leicester ram lamb from Scott Thomason, Piel View Flock, Barrow-in-Furness, sold for 5,000 guineas.
GEpetrol was established as the National Oil Company of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea by Presidential Decree on August 27, 2001 and became operational in January 2002.
Ms Tshiamonyane explained that keeping guinea fowls was a challenge as they eat more compared to chickens, adding that she has resorted to working for Ipelegeng to be able to feed the guinea fowls.
Papua New Guinea Prime Minister Peter O'Neill is in the country for a state visit.
Health Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki has received a WHO certificate declaring Kenya free of Guinea worm infections.
The Philippines is targeting to ship more farm goods to Papua New Guinea in a bid to revive its dormant trade activities with the tiny Pacific country.