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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of fall guy
The Jacksonville Jaguars sacked Super Bowl-winning coach Doug Pederson on Monday in the NFL’s dark annual ritual of finding fall guys after the regular season came to an end Sunday night.
—
David K. Li, NBC News, 6 Jan. 2025
Watching England as a non-white person can come with the fear that with many of the national team’s historic defeats comes a fall guy.
—Carl Anka, The Athletic, 8 July 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for fall guy
David K. Li, NBC News, 6 Jan. 2025
Watching England as a non-white person can come with the fear that with many of the national team’s historic defeats comes a fall guy.
—Carl Anka, The Athletic, 8 July 2024
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
See All Example Sentences for fall guy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fall guy
Noun
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Once identified, the kit dynamically loads a counterfeit login page tailored to that provider, often with the victim’s email address already filled in.—
Alex Vakulov,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2025
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The gallery was filled with the victim’s friends, colleagues and family.—
Caleb Lunetta,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Ignorance Ignorance is never an excuse for poor governance.—
Committee of 200,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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These past comments from Trump have often appeared to be in jest, or just an excuse to excite his loyal fan base during public speaking.—
Newsweek Staff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Apr. 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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Have a vet assess the setup before bringing goats home.—
David Faris,
MSNBC Newsweek,
11 Apr. 2025
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New shops opened in the market, and plump goats began to graze in the pasture.—
Erika Page,
Christian Science Monitor,
8 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Immigrants and refugees have become political scapegoats there, spawning a rash of attacks and even murders.—
Amy Yurkanin,
ProPublica,
15 Apr. 2025
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Find another scapegoat to rationalize your assault on the crown jewels of American progress — our colleges and universities that until now have attracted the best and the brightest from our country and all over the world.—
Reader Commentary,
Baltimore Sun,
3 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Fall guy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fall%20guy. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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