whipping-boy

A form of whipping boy — A boy who was whipped in the stead of a misbehaving prince in early modern Europe.

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Meanings

nounwhipping-boy (plural whipping-boys)

plural whipping-boys

  1. alternativeAlternative form of whipping boy.

    Evidently George was to become the whipping-boy for his wife's transgressions.

    1934, Ernest Bramah [pseudonym; Ernest Brammah Smith], The Bravo of London
Cite this entry
APA

whipping-boy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whipping-boy

MLA

“whipping-boy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whipping-boy. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “whipping-boy,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/whipping-boy.

Source: whipping-boy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.