throw under the bus

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throw under the bus

1. (idiomatic, transitive, of a person or group) To betray or blame (something or someone), as a scapegoat or otherwise for personal gain.
   • 1993, Steven Cronin, "Sitter: Girl ‘Asked For It,’ Woman Told Her," Press of Atlantic City, 27 Jan:

     "A person who does things for me and befriended me and helped me out when I needed help, I'm certainly not going to throw them under the bus," she said.

   • 2008, Brian Grow et al., "Dangerous Fakes," Business Week, 2 Oct., (retrieved 24 Mar. 2009):

     "I got thrown under the bus by BAE," she says. "They did not want to take responsibility, so they pointed at us."

   • May 24, 2013' - Schlock Mercenary:

     Captain Tagon: So, all you did was serve us fast, before [chef] Ch'votlq could deploy his whisk of ruin?
     Liz: Please don't make me throw my new boss under the bus.

2. (idiomatic, transitive, of a thing, idea, etc.) To discard or disown.
   • 2008, Ken Newton, "Local tiff is the new old thing," St. Joseph News-Press (US), 20 Jul. (retrieved 24 Mar. 2009):

     A recent magazine article discussed the need to throw under the bus worn-out cultural catchphrases, with the first being “throw under the bus.”

• (betray or blame, use as a scapegoat): sacrifice, sell down the river, throw to the wolves
• (discard or disown): reject

• fair-weather friend

• Newsweek article discussing usage and history of this expression