bum rap

English

Pronunciation

• Audio (AU):

  (file)

Noun

bum rap (plural bum raps)

1. (slang) A false accusation, or an injustice, especially one that leads to imprisonment.
   • 1918, "Hun Talk," Chicago Daily Tribune, 7 Oct., p. 17:

     . . . going over the top of the wall of the Trenton prison, where I was sent on a bum rap.

2. (idiomatic) An undeservedly unfavorable portrayal or reputation.
   • 2008 Sep. 10, Patti Neighmond, "Study: Arthroscopic Surgery Provides Few Benefits," National Public Radio (retrieved 24 Mar 2009):

     Orthopedic surgeon Robert Marx, with New York's Hospital for Special Surgery, says that findings from the current study should not give arthroscopic knee surgery a bum rap.

Synonyms

• (bad reputation): bad rap

Translations

false accusation

• Finnish: väärä syytös
• French: mytho (fr) m, affabulation (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: несправедливое (nespravedlivoje) осужде́ние (osuždénije) (nespravedlívoje osuždénije)n

undeservedly unfavorable reputation

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

References

• “bum rap”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.