sacrificial lamb

noun

: someone or something that is deliberately sacrificed to promote a cause or for the benefit of others

… has become the sacrificial lamb to deflect criticism about exaggerated charges used to make the case for war on Iraq.

—John Diamond

Yet some women complain that they are recruited as sacrificial lambs to fill out tickets against incumbents regarded as unbeatable.

—Patricia A. Avery

Examples of sacrificial lamb in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

And yet, despite their similar positional profiles, there was never any question who would be the sacrificial lamb. —Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 13 Mar. 2024

Orsted will have wanted to avoid becoming the sacrificial lamb in the right’s latest rampage against the offshore wind sector. —Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 17 Nov. 2023

Indeed, Paris may be the unfortunate sacrificial lamb in an apparent epidemic that has been a long time coming across the rest of the globe. —Ryan Hogg, Fortune, 17 Oct. 2023

After years of romping over Republican sacrificial lambs in elections, she was confronted in her quest for a sixth straight Senate victory in 2018 by her own restive party. —Cathleen Decker, Los Angeles Times, 29 Sep. 2023

Venice shouldn’t be used as a sacrificial lamb to make a point. —Catherine Bennett, WIRED, 15 Aug. 2023

In JetBlue’s quest to buy Spirit Airlines, its alliance with American Airlines is the sacrificial lamb. —Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 6 July 2023

This sacrificial lamb to The Watchdog is not going to enjoy the next few minutes of his life. —Dave Lieber, Dallas News, 30 May 2023

But in fairness, the presidential aspirants who ended up as 2016’s sacrificial lambs were at least in uncharted territory. —Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 17 May 2023

Word History

First Known Use

1834, in the meaning defined above