whipping boy

as in victim
a person or thing taking the blame for others used the government's economic policies as the whipping boy for every bad decision the company made

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of whipping boy As head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci has become a standard whipping boy for conservatives pushing back against anti-pandemic restrictions, but few politicians have placed him at the center of their outreach to their political base like DeSantis. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2021 Still, having his excoriating assessments collected between hard covers makes for a powerful indictment, the more so because Boehner’s book vividly captures the growing horror of a bartender’s kid who evolved from a reflexive Democrat to a Reagan Republican to a tea party whipping boy. Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2021 The weaponization subcommittee’s foremost target will be the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which during Trump’s presidency became a whipping boy for the right, contradicting the GOP’s claim to champion law and order. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 21 Feb. 2023 Jamie, the lawyer, is the resident whipping boy, the black sheep whose ambitions surpass his mettle. Lauren Michele Jackson, The New Yorker, 4 Feb. 2023 See All Example Sentences for whipping boy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whipping boy
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
Noun
  • 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
  • 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
  • The officers used pandemic travel restrictions as an excuse for the delay.
    Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 24 Feb. 2025
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

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Cite this Entry

“Whipping boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whipping%20boy. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.

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