英语文化陷阱系列 (17)

　　17. Whipping boy

　　大家可能对 “scapegoat”的意思非常熟悉，但是对 “whipping boy ”可能并不熟悉，实际上二者的意思非常接近。

　　Whipping boy 的比喻义就是“充当替罪羊的人或物，代人受过”。这个短语在实际中用途颇多。如：“ one 'right' way to teach reading……To support phonics instruction and make the advocates of 'whole language' the whipping boy does a disservice to our schools and teachers” (摘自1997年《时代周刊》);

　　又如：“Building 31 also is not immune from the siege mentality that generally can mark Microsoft. 'We're very much a whipping boy in the academic community'”