Pull the Chestnuts Out of the Fire——充當炮灰

** to do difficult, dirty, or dangerous work for someone else's benefit, while they take the reward without facing the risk

~~ 火中取栗；拯救某人；出手相助；被當作犧牲品；為他人辛苦奔波；為人挑重擔；給予援助

~~ draw chestnuts from the fire; save someone's day; come to someone's rescue; bail someone out; lend a hand to; help somebody out; give assistance to

!! The metaphor is commonly attributed to Aesop's Monkey and the Cat, where the aroma of the roasting chestnuts on the hearth allured the monkey. The monkey pounced upon the cat and forced her to serve as his deputy. Holding the cat's paw in his, he used it to draw chestnuts from the fire. While the monkey gobbled up the chestnuts, the cat's back arched, fur on end, and she howled piteously until her wails brought the cook to the rescue.

這個比喻通常出自伊索寓言《猴子和貓》。故事裡，壁爐烤栗子的香味吸引猴子。猴子襲擊貓，強迫貓擔任其副手。猴子拿着貓的爪子，從火中取出栗子。當猴子吞食栗子時，貓背拱起，毛都豎起，並可憐地嚎叫，直到哀嚎引來廚師營救。

>> The smaller nation feared it was being used to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for a superpower's proxy war.

小國擔心被利用，在超級大國的代理戰爭中充當炮灰。

學勤教育中心英語專科導師 李啟文 教授