INDEX:
1. to blame someone for something
2. to be blamed for something, especially unfairly
3. someone who is unfairly blamed for something
4. to blame someone else for something that is your fault
5. to prove that someone should not be blamed
6. when people blame each other
RELATED WORDS
to be responsible for something bad that has happened : ↑ FAULT
see also
↑ ACCUSE
↑ CRITICIZE
↑ TELL SB OFF
↑ GUILTY
↑ FORGIVE/NOT FORGIVE
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1. to blame someone for something
▷ blame /bleɪm/ [transitive verb]
to say or think that someone is responsible for something bad that has happened :
▪ It’s your idea - don’t blame me if it doesn’t work.
▪ Everyone wants to blame the referees when their team loses.
blame somebody for something
▪ Democrats have blamed Republicans for the failure to reach an agreement.
blame something on somebody/something
▪ Some of the women blamed their husbands’ violence on drinking.
blame yourself
▪ For many years I blamed myself for her death.
▷ say it’s somebody’s fault /ˌseɪ ɪts somebodyˈs ˈfɔːlt/ [verb phrase] especially spoken
to say that someone is responsible for something bad that has happened :
▪ Everyone is saying it’s my fault, but I didn’t have anything to do with it.
say it’s sb’s fault (that)
▪ How can you say it’s my fault that you lost your job?
▷ put/lay/place the blame on /ˌpʊt, ˌleɪ, ˌpleɪs ðə ˈbleɪm ɒn/ [verb phrase]
to say who you think is responsible for something bad that has happened, often unfairly or wrongly :
▪ Don’t try to put the blame on me!
▪ Subsequent investigations placed the blame squarely on city officials.
put/lay the blame for something on somebody/something
▪ Farmers have laid the blame for their problems entirely on EU policies.
▷ accuse /əˈkjuːz/ [transitive verb]
to say that someone is guilty of a crime or of doing something bad :
▪ They’re accusing me without any proof.
accuse somebody of doing something
▪ Are you accusing her of lying?
▪ The woman was accused of having beaten her four-year-old daughter.
be accused of murder/armed robbery etc
▪ West has been accused of first-degree murder.
▷ apportion blame /əˌpɔːʳʃ ə n ˈbleɪm/ [verb phrase] formal
to officially say which people are responsible for something bad that has happened :
▪ It is not easy for the Committee of Inquiry to apportion blame in such a complicated case.
▷ hold somebody responsible /ˌhəʊld somebody rɪˈspɒnsə̇b ə lǁ-ˈspɑːn-/ [verb phrase]
to say that it is someone’s fault that something bad has happened because you think it was their duty to prevent this from happening :
▪ It’s your decision - you can’t hold me responsible if it goes wrong.
hold sb responsible for
▪ Alex still holds his mother responsible for the divorce.
hold somebody partly/largely/entirely responsible
▪ The shipment never arrived, and we are holding the freight company entirely responsible.
hold somebody personally responsible
blame one person only
▪ If anything happens to Donny, I’ll hold you personally responsible.
▷ reproach yourself /rɪˈprəʊtʃ jɔːʳˌself/ [verb phrase]
to feel that something is your fault and wish that you had done more to prevent it from happening :
▪ There’s no point in reproaching yourself - there’s nothing you could have done.
reproach yourself for
▪ He reproached himself for not having called the police sooner.
▷ shoot the messenger /ˌʃuːt ðə ˈmesə̇ndʒəʳ/ [verb phrase]
to become angry at someone who tells you bad news even though they are not responsible for what has happened :
▪ If you don’t listen and instead shoot the messenger, you’re not going to learn about the problems you need to deal with.
2. to be blamed for something, especially unfairly
▷ get the blame/get blamed /ˌget ðə ˈbleɪm, get ˈbleɪmd/ [verb phrase]
to be blamed for something, especially something that you did not do :
▪ Hurry up! It’s me who’ll get the blame if we’re late.
▪ The crowds cause the problems, but the police get blamed for it.
get the blame/get blamed for
▪ Television often gets blamed for the decline in family life.
get the blame/get blamed for doing something
▪ Karen got blamed for losing the deal.
▷ be in the firing line /biː ɪn ðə ˈfaɪ ə rɪŋ laɪn/ [verb phrase]
if a person, group, or organization is in the firing line, they are publicly blamed for something bad that has happened because people think they are officially responsible :
▪ Rail bosses are in the firing line again following last week’s accident.
▪ Trimble may find himself on the firing line for not responding to the escalating violence.
▷ take the blame /ˌteɪk ðə ˈbleɪm/ [verb phrase]
to accept that people will blame you for something, either because it is your fault or because they think it is your fault :
▪ The coach took the blame for his team’s loss.
take the blame for
▪ My wife didn’t want me to take the blame for something we were both involved in.
▪ I took the blame for Butch because I was afraid of him.
▷ take the rap /ˌteɪk ðə ˈræp/ [verb phrase] informal
to be blamed and punished for a crime or a mistake, even if you did not do it :
▪ I’m not going to take the rap for management’s mistakes.
take the rap for
▪ The police will make sure someone takes the rap for this, and they don’t care who it is.
▷ carry the can /ˌkæri ðə ˈkæn/ [verb phrase] British informal
to be the only person blamed and punished for something that is someone else’s fault as well as your own :
▪ Alan’s senior colleagues decided to let him carry the can.
carry the can for
▪ As chairman I was left to carry the can for a decision that made no sense and was not of my doing.
▷ take the fall /ˌteɪk ðə ˈfɔːl/ [verb phrase] American
to be blamed and punished for a mistake or a crime, even if you did not do it :
▪ He won’t go to jail, he’ll get one of his associates to take the fall.
take the fall for
▪ If you think I’m going to take the fall for the scandal just to protect the Senator, you’re crazy.
3. someone who is unfairly blamed for something
▷ scapegoat /ˈskeɪpgəʊt/ [countable noun]
someone who is unfairly blamed or punished for something, because people want to see that someone is blamed or punished for it :
▪ The captain was just a scapegoat. The real villains were the people in charge of the shipping company.
▪ The public is looking for a scapegoat, but no one will be accused until a full inquiry has been held.
▷ fall guy /ˈfɔːl gaɪ/ [countable noun] especially American
someone who is punished for someone else’s crime or mistake, because people have deliberately made it look as if he or she is responsible :
▪ Journalists asked if the Secretary of State was going be the fall guy for the President’s secret arms deal.
▪ Benson made it clear he does not intend to be the fall guy.
4. to blame someone else for something that is your fault
▷ shift the blame /ˌʃɪft ðə ˈbleɪm/ [verb phrase]
shift the blame onto
▪ You can’t always shift the blame onto your secretary.
shift the blame for
▪ Lawyers for the doctor have tried to shift the blame for the child’s death onto the parents.
▷ pass the buck /ˌpɑːs ðə ˈbʌkǁˌpæs-/ [verb phrase] informal
to try to blame someone else for a problem at work that you are responsible for :
▪ You were in charge of that project, so don’t try to pass the buck.
pass the buck to
▪ It was his mistake but he tried to pass the buck to another manager.
5. to prove that someone should not be blamed
▷ exonerate/clear /ɪgˈzɒnəreɪtǁɪgˈzɑː-, klɪəʳ/ [transitive verb]
to officially show that someone who has been blamed for something is not in fact responsible for it. Exonerate is more formal than clear. :
▪ Simmons was tried and cleared of all charges.
▪ False accusations were made, but he was eventually exonerated.
6. when people blame each other
▷ recriminations /rɪˌkrɪmɪˈneɪʃ ə nz, rɪˌkrɪməˈneɪʃ ə nz/ [plural noun]
a situation in which people are blaming each other :
▪ Family life had become unbearable for her - the arguments, the recriminations, the accusations - so she left.
▪ Smith’s widow and son have traded recriminations since his death in August.