fall guy

noun Slang.
1.
an easy victim.
2.
a scapegoat.

Origin:
1905–10, Americanism

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To fall guy
Collins
World English Dictionary
fall guy
 
n
1.  a person who is the victim of a confidence trick
2.  a scapegoat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Fall guy is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Slang Dictionary

fall guy definition


  1. n.
    a victim; a dupe; the guy who takes the fall. (Originally underworld.) : I didn't want to be the fall guy, so I sat out the last job.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

fall guy

  1. A scapegoat, one who is blamed for the actions of others. For example, He refused to be the fall guy for his colleagues. This expression uses fall in the sense of "consequences" or "blame," which originated in prison slang. [Slang; early 1900s] Also see take the fall.

  2. An easy victim, one who is readily duped. For example, His friends had marked him as the fall guythey knew he would believe their ruse. [Slang; early 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Example sentences
No one wants to be the fall guy for denying a reduced speed.
They needed a fall guy for when the scandal inevitably came to light.
Your job is to be a fall guy, but also a cheerleader and protector.
The collocation fall guy has been much in the news lately.
Idioms & Phrases
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT