shot the messenger

A form of shoot the messenger — To blame a problem on whoever reported it; to hold somebody accountable for a problem because they brought attention to it.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

verb
  1. participlepastsimple past and past participle of shoot the messenger
Cite this entry
APA

shot the messenger. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shot%20the%20messenger

MLA

“shot the messenger.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shot%20the%20messenger. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “shot the messenger,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/shot%20the%20messenger.

Source: shot the messenger on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.