VOA慢速英语:Words and Their Stories: Fall Guy

Every week at this time, the voice of America tells about popular words and expressions used in the United States. Some expressions have made a jump from sports events to everyday life. One such expression is fall guy. A fall guy is the person who someone decides will be the loser or victim.
每周这个时候，美国之音都会讲述美国流行的词汇和表达。一些表达方式从体育赛事演变到日常生活中，fall guy（替罪羊）就是这样一个表达。替罪羊是指由他人决定成为失败者或受害者的人。

The first fall guys were men who wrestled for money. At the end of the nineteenth century, wrestling was a very popular sport in the United States. Wrestling competitions were held not only in big cities, but also at country fairs and traveling shows. As the sport became more popular, it became less and less of a sport. Many of the matches were fixed. The wrestlers knew -- before the match -- which one of them would be the winner.
最早的“fall guy”是一些靠摔跤挣钱的人。在19世纪末，摔跤在美国是非常流行的运动。摔跤比赛不仅在大城市里举行，也在集贸市场和巡回表演中进行。随着这项运动越来越流行，它也变得越来越不像一项体育运动。许多比赛都是安排好的。摔跤手在赛前就知道谁将成为赢家。

The goal in wrestling is to hold your opponent's shoulders down against the floor. This is called a fall. Sometimes, one of the wrestlers would be paid before the match to take the fall. He would agree to be the loser...the fall guy.
摔跤的目的是把对手的双肩按在地板上。双肩着地就是所谓的fall。有时候，其中一名摔跤手会在赛前被收买被打败（take a fall）。他就会同意成为失败者，就是fall guy。

Today, a fall guy is anyone who is tricked into taking the blame for the crime or wrongdoing of someone else. There are fall guys in many situations -- people who publicly take the blame when something goes wrong.
今天，fall guy是指被欺骗为他人的犯罪或不道德行为负责的人。在许多情况下，都有在出问题是公开承担责任的替罪羊。

A fall guy takes the rap for something wrong or illegal. He accepts responsibility and punishment for what someone else did. The fall guy may have been involved in the situation, but was not the person who should be blamed.
一个替罪羊为错误或非法的事情承担责任，也就是承担别人犯罪的责任和惩罚。替罪羊可能已经被卷入这种状况，但不是应当受到指责的人。

The word rap has meant blame for several hundred years. The expression to take the rap first was used about one hundred years ago.
几百年前，Rap这个单词就指“惩罚”。Take the rap这种表达第一次被使用是在约一百多年前。

Another similar expression is bum rap. A person receives a bum rap if he is found guilty of a crime...but is really innocent.
另一个类似的表达是bum rap。一个人被认为有罪而受到不公正惩罚，但实际上是无辜的。

Sometimes, a fall guy may not realize he is the fall guy until he is the victim of a bum rap. In that case, he may feel that he has been framed. To frame someone is to create false evidence to make an innocent person seem guilty.
有时，替罪羊在自己成为不公正的受害者前，可能没有意识到自己是替罪羊。在这种情况下，他可能会觉得自己被诬陷。诬陷他人是指制造虚假证据，让一个无辜的人看上去像有罪。

Some word experts say the expression to frame someone comes from the way wood must be fitted closely around a painting or photograph to frame it. In the same way, evidence must be designed perfectly if it is to frame an innocent person to make him or her seem guilty.
有些词汇专家称，to frame someone这个短语源自做相框时木板必须紧紧围绕画或照片。同理，如果要诬陷一个无辜者使其看上去像有罪，证据必须被设计得很完美。