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Whipping Boy
Whipping Boy
Whipping Boy : Phrases
Meaning:
Someone who takes punishment rightly due to someone else.
Example:
The new employee was hired as a whipping boy for the incompetent management team - they needed fresh blood for their blame games.
Origin:
In the Middle Ages, in was common practice for a boy of ordinary birth to be educated alongside a prince. If the prince did something wrong, it was not the prince that was punished, but rather the commoner who received the lashes. The whipping boy paid heavily for his privileged lifestyle.
