fall guy
Americannoun
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an easy victim.
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a scapegoat.
noun
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a person who is the victim of a confidence trick
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a scapegoat
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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 .
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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.
"Pakistan was very open in public in embracing its role as a mediator which certainly subjected it to certain risks, such as being viewed as the fall guy if things went downhill," Kugelman said.
From Barron's • Jun. 16, 2026
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
And then, the entire edifice crumbled as Baltimore became the focus and fall guy for one of the more infamous investigations of scientific misconduct in the last half of the 20th century.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 8, 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
I said they’re looking for a fall guy and you’re nominated.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
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.
