fall guy

noun

: scapegoat
a fall guy for his boss's errors

Examples of fall guy in a Sentence

His lawyers will argue that he was set up as a fall guy for crimes he had no part in. the sandlot ball players wanted the littlest kid to be the fall guy for the broken window, figuring that he'd have the best chance of escaping punishment
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Post-failure, Lumi is the subject of a government inquest, and Pierpoint has to send a representative who will act as the bank’s face and potential fall guy. Nina Li Coomes, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2024 The school offers bachelor’s, master’s and post-graduate degrees, in Spanish, across most professional fields, as well as a one-year introductory filmmaking course in English and a bilingual stunt academy to train the next generation of fall guys. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Aug. 2024 In the end, the biggest loser on Sunday was neither United Russia nor Putin, but rather his fall guy, Medvedev. Kathryn Stoner-Weiss, Foreign Affairs, 8 Dec. 2011 And when his former leading man, Tom Ryder (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), accidentally kills Colt’s replacement stunt man, Ryder and his unsavory producer Gail Meyer (Hannah Waddingham) hatch a plan to make Colt the literal fall guy. Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for fall guy 

Word History

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of fall guy was in 1895

Dictionary Entries Near fall guy

Cite this Entry

“Fall guy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fall%20guy. Accessed 21 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

fall guy

noun
: a person on whom something is blamed : scapegoat

More from Merriam-Webster on fall guy

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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