Plural of pawn: the lowest-ranking chess pieces, or people being used by others for their own purposes.
From Old French 'peon' or 'pan,' derived from Latin 'pagensis' (villager). In chess, pawns represent the common infantry; metaphorically, it means anyone expendable.
In chess, pawns are the only pieces that can be promoted to any other piece if they reach the opposite end—from 'lowest ranking' to 'most powerful' in a single move, a perfect metaphor for social mobility.
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