SINCE 1828
fall guy
nounDefinition of fall guy
: scapegoat
a fall guy for his boss's errors
Keep scrolling for more
Examples of fall guy in a Sentence
His lawyers will argue that he was set up as a fall guy for crimes he had no part in.
the sandlot ball players wanted the littlest kid to be the fall guy for the broken window, figuring that he'd have the best chance of escaping punishment
Recent Examples on the Web
Meanwhile, is this yet another year of making the batting coach the fall guy? — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Decisions over Fernando Tatis Jr., Andy Green, farm system facing Padres," 24 Aug. 2019 Another bomb goes off during the beachside volleyball tournament, confirming Veronica’s suspicions that Perry Walsh was just a fall guy and the real murderer is still alive and kicking … and killing. — Sydney Bucksbaum, EW.com, "Hulu's Veronica Mars revival binge recap for every episode," 19 July 2019 Hollendorfer became a lightning rod, painted by some as a convenient fall guy and others as a powerful statement that no one would be excluded in efforts to clean up a sport under siege. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Case of trainer Hollendorfer confuses, rattles Southern California horse racing," 13 July 2019 That felt like football having its fun, turning the hero of the last game into the fall guy, and that sense of a sport toying with its champion was compounded with the second goal. — Jonathan Wilson, SI.com, "Arrogant Germany Accepts Its Shocking, Deserved World Cup Elimination," 27 June 2018 Explain why, and how, in your view, the hunting guide, Theo Bronkhorst, became the fall guy. — National Geographic, "Meet the Man Who Knew Cecil the Lion Best," 28 Apr. 2018 Hollendorfer became a lightning rod, painted by some as a convenient fall guy and others as a powerful statement that no one would be excluded in efforts to clean up a sport under siege. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Column: Case of trainer Hollendorfer confuses, rattles Southern California horse racing," 13 July 2019 Irving became the fall guy, as stories about his conflicts with teammates, coach Brad Stevens and GM Danny Ainge leaked. — Troy L. Smith, cleveland.com, "How Kyrie’s drama took him from Cleveland to Boston to Brooklyn," 1 July 2019 Nicklas Backstrom was tripped by his own teammate, but Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland ended up in the sin bin as the fall guy. — Tyler Horka, SI.com, "Stanley Cup Final: Capitals Dominate in Game 3 Win Against Golden Knights," 2 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'fall guy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Keep scrolling for more
Comments on fall guy
What made you want to look up fall guy? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
Test Your Vocabulary
The Exceptions Quiz III
-
- Which of these words does not mean "nonsense"?
Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
TAKE THE QUIZ
Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Words at Play
Ask the Editors
Share fall guy
Resources for fall guy