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Synonyms

fall guy

American  

noun

Slang.

  1. an easy victim.

  2. a scapegoat.

fall guy British  

noun

  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
fall guy Idioms  

  1. 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 .

  2. An easy victim, one who is readily duped. For example, His friends had marked him as the fall guy—they knew he would believe their ruse . [ Slang ; early 1900s]

Etymology

Origin of fall guy

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Fall guy of some of the best of them is Sam Lapidus, whose name Holtz lifted from a building sign 20 years ago.

From Time Magazine Archive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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