Meaning of Idiom ‘Guinea Pig’
When someone is a guinea pig, they are the subject of experimentation or testing, medical or otherwise; someone used as part of an experiment; the first person to try something new.
Usage Notes
Alluding to the long tradition of guinea pigs being used as test subjects in scientific research, this idiom is often used in regard to medical experiments such as unproven drug therapies, where people involved in a clinical trial might be referred to as guinea pigs. Note that, in this setting, this is derogatory and tends to have a connotation of disapproval. Researchers themselves, in a professional setting, would not refer to their test subjects as guinea pigs, except perhaps in private or to be humorous.
Guinea pig is also used in a more general figurative way and is sometimes used as a verb.
Sentence Examples
“Can’t we just order pizza? I’m tired of being the guinea pig for your cooking experiments.”
“How much do you get paid to be a guinea pig in these drug trials?”
“Twenty students volunteered to act as guinea pigs in the psychology experiment.’
“You want to make some extra money? They are looking for guinea pigs for a sleep research study. All we have to do is sleep!”
“Look, you know what happens if you try this.” “We both know what happens if I don’t.” “Well, not a lot of guinea pigs volunteer to die in the name of science.” — Deja Vu (2006)
“So that’s what I was, huh? I was a guinea pig. Somebody you could test your theories on?” — How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)
“The medication I was on is not working. So we’re trying something else, but it’s like, they don’t know about it, so I’m like a guinea pig, and–” — High Fidelity (2000)
“And then, when it would have been easy enough to stay out of danger, he used his own body as a guinea pig to give me a calmer brain and a somewhat more sophisticated way of expressing myself.” — Young Frankenstein (1974)
“It was an experiment. They used us as guinea pigs, man. The Dukes used us as guinea pigs. To see how our lives would turn out. They made a bet.” — Trading Places (1983)
Origin
Guinea pigs have long been used as test subjects for experiments because they have biological similarities to human beings. This practice has gone on so long and is so common that the term guinea pig became generalized to refer to human test subjects.
