Definition of "whipping-boy" [whipping-boy]

• A boy formerly educated with a prince and punished in his stead. (noun)

The Century Dictionary (Public Domain)

• "Unfortunately, New Criticism has apparently come to be seen as an all-purpose kind of apologia for complexity of all kinds, a convenient whipping-boy in circumstances in which "complexity" is seen by some as an excuse for evading obvious moral distinctions."
• "A painter whose style had conquered Europe became, at best, an artistic whipping-boy."
• "And when he is joined by Russell Barr as a Boswell who is a mixture of close companion, whipping-boy and assiduous note-taker, you feel you are eavesdropping on one of the great double-acts in literary history."