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scapegoat

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scapegoat

In the Hebrew Bible (Leviticus 16), a goat loaded with the sins of the people and then sent out into the wilderness as a way of removing those sins. The goat was sent to Azazel, who is variously understood to be a demon of the desert and of disorder. In contemporary language, a scapegoat is someone, usually relatively minor, who is caught up in a scandal and then dismissed or prosecuted while those higher up who were also involved are left untouched.
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? Mentioned in ? References in classic literature
 
Reed would have endured my presence more complacently; her children would have entertained for me more of the cordiality of fellow-feeling; the servants would have been less prone to make me the scapegoat of the nursery.
Jane Eyre by Bronte, Charlotte View in context
Scenery of the Way-lee-way A substitute for tobacco Sublime scenery of Snake River The garrulous old chief and his cousin A Nez Perce meeting A stolen skin The scapegoat dog Mysterious conferences The little chief His hospitality The captain's account of the United States His healing skill
The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, U.S.A., in the Rocky Mountains and the far West by Irving, Washington View in context
On entering the drawing room Stepan Arkadyevitch apologized, explaining that he had been detained by that prince, who was always the scapegoat for all his absences and unpunctualities, and in one moment he had made all the guests acquainted with each other, and, bringing together Alexey Alexandrovitch and Sergey Koznishev, started them on a discussion of the Russification of Poland, into which they immediately plunged with Pestsov.
Anna Karenina by Tolstoy, Leo View in context
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