舞台上被安排的那個位置
這一家就是核心畫面本身：有人被放在表演裡的某個位置，整場演出才成立。他做的事看起來不起眼，但少了他，笑點和效果都丟不出去。
noun · C1
In a comedy act with two performers, the stooge is the one who is joked about and made to look silly, so that the other performer gets the laughs.
喜劇搭檔（被虧的那位）
核心畫面
Think of the person on a stage who has been put there for someone else's benefit. He is not there to shine; he is there so that the other performer shines. He takes the joke, asks the flat question, or plays the part the act needs. Now take that off the stage: a person placed where someone else needs them, doing what that person needs done.
stooge 可以想成舞台上那個「被安排好位置的人」。他站在那裡，不是為了自己發光，而是為了讓另一個人發光：他丟話、…更多收起
stooge 可以想成舞台上那個「被安排好位置的人」。他站在那裡，不是為了自己發光，而是為了讓另一個人發光：他丟話、他出糗、他被笑，掌聲落在旁邊那位身上。這個畫面一旦離開舞台，就變成生活裡「被人擺在那個位置、替別人把事情做掉」的人。From the word’s history
The source says the word may be a shortening of Russian студент (student), and that its earliest meaning was a stage assistant — the actor who helps a comedian. It may have come from Yiddish vaudeville slang. That earliest meaning is exactly the stage picture the other uses grow out of.
來源說這個字可能是俄文 студент（學生）的縮寫，最早的意思是「台上的助手、幫喜劇演員的演員」，也可能來自意第緒語的雜耍圈用語。來源自己用的是「可能」，所以這條線索只能當成參考。不過它和今天的核心畫面對得上：一開始就是站在旁邊、替主角服務的那個人。
Wiktionary (kaikki extract, source_ref kaikki:3f6f69a190036ae4:624998996:24026)
Two branches
舞台之外：被人放在那個位置的人
把舞台拿掉，位置還在。有人需要有人替他站在前面、替他把手弄髒，於是找了一個人來坐那個位子。差別在於：台上的 stooge 知道自己在演，生活裡的 stooge 不一定知道自己被算進去了。
noun · C1
Someone that another person uses to do unpleasant, dishonest or illegal jobs for them, while that person stays out of trouble. Calling someone a stooge says they take orders and have no real power of their own.
棋子；傀儡