pin the blame on
idiomatic phrase
: to assign (someone) the blame for something
When he got caught, he tried to pin the blame on someone else.
Eventually, researchers and governments did definitively pin the blame for that incident on the Russian government …—
Patrick Howell O'Neill
Patrick Howell O'NeillExamples of pin the blame on in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Experts remain hesitant to pin the blame on tariffs yet, focusing more on labor issues, housing costs and other usual culprits.
—Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Aug. 2025
Starting with criticism for being out of the country when the fires began, Bass then attempted to pin the blame on fire chief Kristin Crowley, angering the firefighters union as well as people deeply sympathetic to the firefighters’ heroic efforts to battle the blazes.
—Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 3 Aug. 2025
With a potential funding impasse coming this fall, Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, has already begun the political effort to pin the blame on Democrats if the government shuts down.
—New York Times, 25 July 2025
Lula’s initial pronouncement that Brazil would respond in kind was seen favorably among his supporters, though the opposition and many in the media pinned the blame on Lula for not being able to forge compromise with the Trump administration.
—Rafael R. Ioris, The Conversation, 14 July 2025
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Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Aug. 2025
Starting with criticism for being out of the country when the fires began, Bass then attempted to pin the blame on fire chief Kristin Crowley, angering the firefighters union as well as people deeply sympathetic to the firefighters’ heroic efforts to battle the blazes.
—Douglas Schoen, Oc Register, 3 Aug. 2025
With a potential funding impasse coming this fall, Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, has already begun the political effort to pin the blame on Democrats if the government shuts down.
—New York Times, 25 July 2025
Lula’s initial pronouncement that Brazil would respond in kind was seen favorably among his supporters, though the opposition and many in the media pinned the blame on Lula for not being able to forge compromise with the Trump administration.
—Rafael R. Ioris, The Conversation, 14 July 2025
See All Example Sentences for pin the blame on
Cite this Entry
“Pin the blame on.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pin%20the%20blame%20on. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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