the.com/fall guy
The one who takes the blame so the real culprit can keep their alibi.
means A person who is set up or sacrificed to take blame or punishment that rightfully belongs to someone else.
from American slang from underworld and boxing circles in the early 1900s, where 'fall' meant arrest, conviction, or a staged loss — a 'fall guy' was the boxer who agreed to take a dive, or the lackey positioned to literally 'take the fall' (be arrested) while the real operators walked free. The phrase climbed from criminal jargon into everyday speech, keeping its core image intact: someone falls so someone else doesn't have to.
- origin
- 1900s slang for a boxer paid to lose
- job description
- absorb blame, not cause it
- best trait
- deniability for everyone but him
- modern cousin
- the scapegoat with better PR