as in victim
a person or thing taking the blame for others
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
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fall guy
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
In The Fall Guy, Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers, the titular fall guy, which is an industry term for stunt man.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 May 2024
The irony was that Mayorkas, who had witnessed the surge in unaccompanied minors in 2014, as Deputy Secretary, was perhaps the least convenient fall guy.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fall guy
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
In The Fall Guy, Ryan Gosling plays Colt Seavers, the titular fall guy, which is an industry term for stunt man.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 May 2024
The irony was that Mayorkas, who had witnessed the surge in unaccompanied minors in 2014, as Deputy Secretary, was perhaps the least convenient fall guy.
—Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 17 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for fall guy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fall guy
Noun
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Since its inception in 2011, the CFPB said its enforcement actions in 42 cases involving harm to service members and veterans have delivered $183 million in redress to victims.—
Melissa Chan,
NBC News,
20 Feb. 2025
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Scott spent the money, almost $470,000, at casinos, personal expenses or payments to other victims to keep the scheme afloat, prosecutors said.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacramento Bee,
20 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The officers used pandemic travel restrictions as an excuse for the delay.—
Joshua Yaffa,
The New Yorker,
24 Feb. 2025
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Ted Sarandos and the powerful in Hollywood might be tempted to use Emilia Pérez as a great excuse to back away from the trans community.—
Seven Graham,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Once more, Turkey seems to have become a whipping boy for all manner of interests, some of which have little to do with the realities of Turkey itself.—
Hugh Pope,
Foreign Affairs,
21 Oct. 2010
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The Republicans and their puppet master, Donald Trump, are ginning up the machine against immigration and making Mayorkas their whipping boy for chaos at the border.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
18 Apr. 2024
Noun
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They were inhabited by a handful of people and a few goats; one village had a single resident.—
Akash Kapur,
Travel + Leisure,
24 Feb. 2025
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In some formulations of the river-crossing puzzle, a farmer with a wolf, a goat, and a cabbage must cross over by boat.—
Sigal Samuel,
Vox,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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In our opinion, Chief Crowley is being made a scapegoat, and she is being terminated for telling the truth.—
Mark Joseph,
Newsweek,
22 Feb. 2025
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The Old Testament story of the scapegoat—a goat burdened by human sins and exiled into the wilderness in order to purify the community—inspired Hepburn Ferrer’s latest body of work.—
airmail.news,
airmail.news,
25 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fall guy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fall%20guy. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
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