whipping boy

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noun
  1. a person who is made to bear the blame for another's mistake; scapegoat.

  2. (formerly) a boy educated along with and taking punishment in place of a young prince or nobleman.

Origin of whipping boy

1
First recorded in 1640–50

Words Nearby whipping boy

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

How to use whipping boy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for whipping boy

whipping boy

noun
  1. a person of little importance who is blamed for the errors, incompetence, etc, of others, esp his superiors; scapegoat

Origin of whipping boy

1
C17: originally referring to a boy who was educated with a prince and who received punishment for any faults committed by the prince

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 whipping boy

whipping boy

A scapegoat, as in This department's always been the whipping boy when things don't go well. This expression alludes to the former practice of keeping a boy to be whipped in place of a prince who was to be punished. [Early 1900s]

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