bum rap

American  

[buhm rap] / ˈbʌm ˈræp /

Also bad rap

noun

Slang.

1. an unjust accusation, verdict, or punishment.

   He was sent to prison on a bum rap.

2. an adverse opinion or judgment considered undeserved or unjust.

   The review was a bum rap, but I liked the play.

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bum rap British  

noun

1. a trumped-up or false charge

2. an unjust punishment

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bum rap Idioms  

1. A false accusation or conviction; also, unfair criticism or action. For example, He claimed he was in prison on a bum rap, or The theater critics gave her last play a bum rap. This expression originated in the 1920s as underworld slang, and by the mid-1900s it was also used figuratively for other kinds of injustice.

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Etymology

Origin of bum rap

First recorded in 1910–15; bum ¹ ( def. ) (in the sense “disappointing, unpleasant”) + rap ¹ ( def. ) (in the sense “blame, punishment, criminal charge”)

Example Sentences

But it’s a bum rap to blame the state government for not building more dams in California.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 13, 2023

But there is a level on which the president is getting a bum rap.

From Fox News • Jun. 2, 2020

Picasso parried by mocking the apparent repetitiveness of the gaunt figures that had become the exclusive focus of Giacometti’s sculpture during his war years in Switzerland—a bum rap, as this show proves.

From The New Yorker • Jun. 11, 2018

He said police got a bum rap for the errors or misconduct of a few rogue officers.

From Slate • Apr. 5, 2017

The class laughed along with him, but I always thought cliches got a bum rap.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini