whipping boy

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Noun

whipping boy (plural whipping boys)

1. Someone punished for the errors of others, historically a boy that was whipped in the stead of a misbehaving prince.

   As the whipping boy, he must take the whippings for the royal heir, Prince Brat.

Synonyms

• scapegoat; see also Thesaurus:scapegoat

Translations

• French: lampiste, pigeon
• German: Prügelknabe
• Russian: ма́льчик для битья́

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