fall guy

See synonyms for fall guy on Thesaurus.com
nounSlang.
  1. an easy victim.

  2. a scapegoat.

Origin of fall guy

1
An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Words Nearby fall guy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fall guy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fall guy

fall guy

nouninformal
  1. a person who is the victim of a confidence trick

  2. a scapegoat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with fall guy

fall guy

A scapegoat, one who is blamed for the actions of others. For example, He refused to be the fall guy for his colleagues. This expression uses fall in the sense of “consequences” or “blame,” which originated in prison slang. [Slang; early 1900s] Also see take the fall.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.