whipping boy
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Middle English wippen "flap violently", from Proto-Germanic wipp-, from Proto-Indo-European wib- "move quickly". Whipping boy first recorded 1647.
[edit] Noun
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."
- Slang. Something that is blamed for the problems of a given society.
[edit] Synonyms
[edit] Translations
- German: Prügelknabe (de) m.
- Russian: мальчик для битья m.; козел отпущения m.
