VOA慢速英語(yǔ):Words and Their Stories: Fall Guy

[00:00.00]Now, the VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES. [00:24.23]Every week at this time, the Voice of America [00:27.98]tells about popular words and expressions [00:34.09]used in the United States. Some expressions have made a jump [00:38.16]from sports events to everyday life. [00:41.96]One such expression is fall guy. [00:46.98]A fall guy is the person who someone decides [00:50.54]will be the loser or victim. [00:55.60]The first fall guys were men who wrestled for money. [00:58.79]At the end of the nineteenth century, [01:03.55]wrestling was a very popular sport in the United States. [01:09.02]Wrestling competitions were held not only in big cities, [01:13.87]but also at country fairs and traveling shows. [01:17.14]As the sport became more popular, [01:20.49]it became less and less of a sport. [01:23.41]Many of the matches were fixed. [01:27.72]The wrestlers knew -- before the match -- [01:31.02]which one of them would be the winner. [01:34.77]The goal in wrestling is to hold [01:37.99]your opponent's shoulders down against the floor. [01:43.94]This is called a fall. Sometimes, [01:49.05]one of the wrestlers would be paid before the match to [01:55.31]take the fall. He would agree to be the loser...the fall guy. [02:00.72]Today, a fall guy is anyone who is tricked [02:06.42]into taking the blame for the crime or wrongdoing of someone else. [02:09.62]There are fall guys in many situations -- [02:14.42]people who publicly take the blame when something goes wrong. [02:20.95]A fall guy takes the rap for something wrong or illegal. [02:27.47]He accepts responsibility and punishment for what someone else did. [02:31.57]The fall guy may have been involved in the situation, [02:35.17]but was not the person who should be blamed. [02:41.19]The word rap has meant blame for several hundred years. [02:47.95]The expression to take the rap first was used about one hundred years ago. [02:52.21]Another similar expression is bum rap. [02:58.72]A person receives a bum rap if he is found guilty of a crime... [03:01.68]but is really innocent. [03:07.74]Sometimes, a fall guy may not realize he is the fall guy [03:11.95]until he is the victim of a bum rap. [03:16.75]In that case, he may feel that he has been framed. [03:21.17]To frame someone is to create false evidence [03:24.51]to make an innocent person seem guilty. [03:29.52]Some word experts say the expression to frame someone [03:35.48]comes from the way wood must be fitted closely around a painting or photograph [03:41.29]to frame it. In the same way, evidence must be designed perfectly [03:47.15]if it is to frame an innocent person to make him or her seem guilty. [04:05.73]This VOA Special English program WORDS AND THEIR STORIES [04:11.89]was written by Marilyn Rice Christiano. This is Warren Scheer.

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