whipping boy
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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English [edit]
Etymology [edit]
Middle English wippen "flap violently", from Proto-Germanic wipp-, from Proto-Indo-European wib- "move quickly". Whipping boy first recorded 1647.
Noun [edit]
whipping boy (plural whipping boys)
- Someone punished for the errors of others.
- "As the whipping boy, he must take the whippings for the royal heir, Prince Brat."
Synonyms [edit]
Translations [edit]
someone punished for the errors of others
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