What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Fall guy’?
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Like ‘stand-up guy’ and ‘scuse me while I kiss this guy’, ‘fall guy’ is American._
It can come as little surprise to hear that this is an American phrase. It emerged around the beginning of the 20th century. The earliest citation that I can find is from the Oakland Tribune, December 1904:
“Bard is worked as a ‘fall guy’. When some one comes along with a pull on Perkins and asks for a job that the senior Senator doesn’t want to give him, it is very convenient to pass the burden of refusal on to Bard. … it is easy enough to see how handy is a good ‘fall guy’ for cases of annoying emergency.”
The term ‘fall money’ was also in use in the USA from the late 19th century onward. This was a stash of money put aside for a criminal while in jail. A ‘fall guy’ who had ‘taken the rap’ for a wealthier or more powerful colleague could expect to receive ‘fall money’ on release from prison.