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Examples of whipping boy in a Sentence
used the government's economic policies as the whipping boy for every bad decision the company made
Recent Examples on the Web
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
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
Toyota’s faith in democratizing hybrid technology turned the company, once an environmental darling, into a whipping boy as it was widely accused of foot-dragging over electric vehicles.
—Lawrence Ulrich, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2024
When Trump loses, Fox will be a whipping boy.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 6 Nov. 2020
See all Example Sentences for whipping boy
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'whipping boy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
1647, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Dictionary Entries Near whipping boy
Cite this Entry
“Whipping boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/whipping%20boy. Accessed 4 Nov. 2024.
Kids Definition
whipping boy
noun
whip·ping boy
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