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whipping boy

 - 3 dictionary results
The Whipping Boy
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whipping boy

 
Use whipping boy in a Sentence
–noun
1. a person who is made to bear the blame for another's mistake; scapegoat.
2. (formerly) a boy educated along with and taking punishment in place of a young prince or nobleman.
Origin:
1640–50
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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The Whipping Boy
Puzzles, quizzes, and more in this literature unit for teachers.
edHelper.com
whipping boy  
n.  

  1. A scapegoat.

  2. A boy formerly raised with a prince or other young nobleman and whipped for the latter's misdeeds.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Idioms & Phrases

whipping boy

A scapegoat, as in This department's always been the whipping boy when things don't go well. This expression alludes to the former practice of keeping a boy to be whipped in place of a prince who was to be punished. [Early 1900s]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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