whipping boy
noun
a person who is made to bear the blame for another's mistake; scapegoat.
(formerly) a boy educated along with and taking punishment in place of a young prince or nobleman.
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Nearby words
- whipped,
- whipper-in,
- whippersnapper,
- whippet,
- whipping,
- whipping cream,
- whipping post,
- whipple,
- whipple's disease,
- whipple's operation
Origin of whipping boy
First recorded in 1640–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for whipping boy
whipping boy
noun
a person of little importance who is blamed for the errors, incompetence, etc, of others, esp his superiors; scapegoat
Word Origin for whipping boy
C17: originally referring to a boy who was educated with a prince and who received punishment for any faults committed by the prince
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
whipping boy
A scapegoat, as in This department's always been the whipping boy when things don't go well. This expression alludes to the former practice of keeping a boy to be whipped in place of a prince who was to be punished. [Early 1900s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
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