Culprit and Fall guy

Related terms

Culprit noun - A person who has committed a crime.

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Fall guy and culprit are semantically related. In some cases you can use "Fall guy" instead a noun "Culprit".

Fall guy noun - A person or thing taking the blame for others.

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Culprit and fall guy are semantically related. Sometimes you can use "Culprit" instead a noun phrase "Fall guy".

Now this in itself was not enough to point to the culprit... but it did make the investigating people look at who else could have done all they know was done other than the fall guy — which was a very short list that quickly led them to look closely at the real culprit.

Source: Literature / Empire from the Ashes
If they can't convict the actual culprit, they will find a Fall Guy or record the death as an accident or suicide.

Source: Series / Copper

Cite this Source

Fall guy and Culprit. (2016). Retrieved 2026, July 29, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/culprit/fall_guy

Culprit & Fall guy. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Jul. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/culprit/fall_guy>.

Fall guy or Culprit. 2016. Accessed July 29, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/culprit/fall_guy.

Google Ngram Viewer shows how "culprit" and "fall guy" have occurred on timeline