fall guy
[noun]
Synonyms: scapegoat, goat, patsy, whipping boy, fool, butt, chump, dupe, fish, gudgeon, gull, pigeon, sap, sucker

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

ˈfall guy noun [countable] especially American English informal

1. someone who is punished for someone else’s crime or mistake Synonym : scapegoat:
Browne claims that the company was simply looking for a fall guy.

2. someone who is easily tricked or made to seem stupid

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

fall guy
[mainly American, informal]
someone who is blamed for another person's mistake or crime.
The book claims Lee Harvey Oswald didn't kill President Kennedy - he was just the fall guy.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲

fall guy
n., slang The "patsy" in an illegal transaction; a sucker; a dupe; the person who takes the punishment others deserve.
When the Savings and Loan Bank failed, due to embezzlement, the vice president had to be the fall guy, saving the necks of the owners.

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲