whipping boy
noun
Forms whipping boys whipping-boy
- noun (historical) A boy who was whipped in the stead of a misbehaving prince in early modern Europe. “As the whipping boy, he must take the whippings for the royal heir, Prince Brat.”
- noun (transferred sense) Someone punished for the errors of others.
Synonyms
scapegoat sacrificial lamb escapegoat fall guy folk devil goat Joe Soap patsy
Etymology
First recorded in 1647. It is debated if this type of proxy punishment actually existed, or how widespread it was.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “whipping boy”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details