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You are here: Home / Language / Where Did the Term “Whipping Boy” Come From And What Does it Mean?

Where Did the Term “Whipping Boy” Come From And What Does it Mean?

April 7, 2020 by Karen Hill

In the mid-seventeenth century, young princes and aristocrats were sent off to school with a young servant who would attend classes and receive an education while also attending to his master’s needs.

If the master found himself in trouble, the servant would take the punishment for him, even if it were a whipping.

He was his master’s “whipping boy.”

Someone who continually takes the fall for someone else is called “whipping boy”.

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Filed Under: Language

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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