take the fall

1. Incur blame or censure for another's misdeeds, as in She's taken the fall for you in terms of any political damage, or A senior official took the fall for the failed intelligence operation. This expression originated in the 1920s as underworld slang. It began to be extended to less criminal kinds of blame in the second half of the 1900s. Also see take a fall, def. 2.

Example Sentences

Another said that while Sneed was locked up in the Oklahoma County jail, he had bragged about setting up Glossip to take the fall.

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And someone close to him will take the fall.

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Matthew Mott was dispensable enough to take the fall for the previous failures but Brendon McCullum, given the keys to all England sides to mould as he pleases until 2027, is not.

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Was it a classic case of someone having to take the fall in the aftermath of an epic disaster?

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Several sergeants later sued the city, saying they were being made to take the fall for the department’s misdeeds.

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Related Words

• blame 
• condemn 
• confine 
• convict 
• imprison 
• incarcerate 
• jail 
• penalize 
• punish