whipping boy

as in victim
a person or thing taking the blame for others used the government's economic policies as the whipping boy for every bad decision the company made

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of whipping boy When Trump loses, Fox will be a whipping boy. Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 6 Nov. 2020 As head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Fauci has become a standard whipping boy for conservatives pushing back against anti-pandemic restrictions, but few politicians have placed him at the center of their outreach to their political base like DeSantis. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2021 Still, having his excoriating assessments collected between hard covers makes for a powerful indictment, the more so because Boehner’s book vividly captures the growing horror of a bartender’s kid who evolved from a reflexive Democrat to a Reagan Republican to a tea party whipping boy. Washington Post, 9 Apr. 2021 The weaponization subcommittee’s foremost target will be the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which during Trump’s presidency became a whipping boy for the right, contradicting the GOP’s claim to champion law and order. Timothy Noah, The New Republic, 21 Feb. 2023 See All Example Sentences for whipping boy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for whipping boy
Noun
  • The remains of about 1,100 victims are unidentified, the OCME said.
    David Chiu, People.com, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Speaking on social media, Huynh explained her reasoning for penning a letter advocating for Combs’ release, despite being identified by prosecutors as one of the disgraced mogul’s victims.
    DeMicia Inman, VIBE.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The Bellows fall guy here is Darrin’s boss, Larry Tate, who suspects something but can never prove it.
    Jim Clash, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2025
  • The New Zealand team Auckland City began the Club World Cup as the tournament’s fall guys, losing 10-0 against the German champions Bayern Munich, but by the end of the group stage, the semi-professional outfit earned respect by holding Boca Juniors to a draw.
    Adam Crafton, New York Times, 27 June 2025
Noun
  • Should her daughter be a sheep or a goat, in a society that punished her mother’s defiance?
    Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 12 Aug. 2025
  • The value was determined by the high fabric quality, as the British failed to successfully breed their own goats.
    H.M.A. Leow, JSTOR Daily, 6 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The party is a perfect excuse for various people in his life to approach him with their own agendas.
    Zac Ntim, Deadline, 7 Aug. 2025
  • As in the never-ending parade of ostensibly Christian exorcism movies, religious belief here seems like a superficial excuse for a stock array of supernatural hoodoo — no matter how many times Chalik’s Abuyya pauses the action to mouth some healing doctrine.
    Dennis Harvey, Variety, 6 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • But student loans have become hyper-politicized, and a liberal education diploma holder has become the scapegoat.
    Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Aug. 2025
  • Dante has become a scapegoat for anything that goes amiss in the restaurant.
    Samantha Husted, Charlotte Observer, 30 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Whipping boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/whipping%20boy. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.

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