whipping boy

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whipping boy

1. A scapegoat.

2. A boy formerly raised with a prince or other young nobleman and whipped for the latter's misdeeds.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

whipping boy

a person of little importance who is blamed for the errors, incompetence, etc, of others, esp his superiors; scapegoat

[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 and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

whip′ping boy`

1. a person who is made to bear the blame for another's mistake; scapegoat.

2. (formerly) a boy educated along with and taking punishment in place of a young prince or nobleman.

whipping boy

- Meaning "scapegoat," the phrase derives from the boy formerly raised with a prince or other young nobleman and whipped for the latter's misdeeds.

whipping boy

noun

One who is made an object of blame:

goat, scapegoat.

Slang: fall guy, patsy.

Translations

Prügelknabe

whipping boy

n (fig) → capro espiatorio

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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References in periodicals archive ?

Vice President Leni Robredo lamented how the members and supporters of opposition become the "whipping boy" whenever there are negative comments, issues, and criticisms thrown at the government.

Robredo laments 'whipping of yellows'

No whipping boy has ever been flogged quite so mercilessly as Brexit.

Need an excuse? Just blame Brexit

Summary: Barney, reckons he's become my whipping boy, given all the columns I've written about him, telling readers about his prankishness

Whipping a column into shape

Vice President Leni Robredo decried on Tuesday that the then ruling Liberal Party has always been a 'whipping boy' of the Duterte administration, its allies and supporters over the alleged destabilization attempt against the government.

LP always the usual suspect in destab try, Robredo complains

ANDREW Strauss insists the new England head coach will not be a "whipping boy" for him or anyone else.

Strauss pledge over new coach; ENGLAND CRICKET

Cesar's abuse came in many forms, both physical and psychological, and Kurzweil begins Whipping Boy by taking readers back to that monumental time in his life.

Whipping Boy

HULL manager Steve Bruce believes Mario Balotelli may not have been too far wrong with his famous 'why always me?' statement, claiming the striker has been treated as a "whipping boy" by his critics.

Balotelli is being made a scapegoat by media says Hull boss

Frank McGarvey reckons Davie Moyes became a whipping boy for Parkhead's boo–boys as a player in the 1980s.

Whipping Bhoy had big point to prove

The winner of the final will receive a feature in Acoustic Magazine UK, as well as being added to the roster of Whipping Boy booking agency, which represents some of the best guitar players in the world.

REVIEW; UK Fingerstyle Guitar Championships, The Moon Club, Cardiff

Love's Whipping Boy: Violence and Sentimentality in the American Imagination.

Love's Whipping Boy: Violence and Sentimentality in the American Imagination

IT looks like Chelsea are looking for a whipping boy after their defeat by Manchester United - and referee Mark Clattenburg seems to fit the bill.

Attacks on the referee are simply sour grapes; LETTERS

Sharma further said that although her photograph has created a furore in Pakistan, yet it did not license her to make the magazine 'whipping boy'.