fall guy

American  

noun

Slang.

1. an easy victim.

2. a scapegoat.

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fall guy British  

noun

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

2. a scapegoat

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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]

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Etymology

Origin of fall guy

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

Example Sentences

In Japan, the BOJ is the government’s fall guy.

From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025

Carl’s duplicitous behavior, meanwhile, leads Roy to think his brother is planning to make him the fall guy for their mutual misdeeds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025

But he claimed he had been made "the fall guy" for a wider crisis engulfing the CBI and that his reputation had been "totally destroyed".

From BBC • Feb. 5, 2024

Mr. Ray had been sentenced to prison without a trial, but later recanted, saying that he was the fall guy for an expansive conspiracy linking the F.B.I., the mafia and the U.S. military.

From New York Times • Jan. 22, 2024

I said they’re looking for a fall guy and you’re nominated.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik

Related Words

• patsy
• scapegoat
• whipping boy