take the rap (for someone or something)
take the rap (for someone or something)
To face punishment, blame, censure, or arrest for someone else's crime or misdeed, perhaps intentionally. We've made it look like he withdrew the money, so when the police start investigating, he'll be the one to take the rap. I'm always taking the rap for your mistakes—I'm sick of covering for you! Janet doesn't have any penalty points on her license, so she agreed to take the rap for Jeff.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
take the rap (for something)
Inf. to take the blame for (doing) something. I won't take the rap for the crime. I wasn't even in town. Who'll take the rap for it? Who did it?
take the rap
(for someone) Inf. to take the blame [for doing something] for someone else. I don't want to take the rap for you. John robbed the bank, but Tom took the rap for him.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
take the rap
Be punished or blamed for something, as in I don't want to take the rap for Mary, who forgot to mail the check in time, or Steve is such a nice guy that he's always taking the rap for his colleagues. This slangy idiom originally used rap in the sense of "a criminal charge," a usage still current. By the mid-1900s it was also used more broadly.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
take the rap
INFORMALIf someone takes the rap, they are blamed for something bad that has happened, usually something that is not their fault. When the client is murdered, his wife takes the rap, but did she really do it? Note: `Rap' is slang for a criminal charge.
Collins COBUILD Idioms Dictionary, 3rd ed. © HarperCollins Publishers 2012
take the rap
be punished or blamed, especially for something that is not your fault or for which others are equally responsible.The late 18th-century use of rap to mean ‘criticism’ or ‘rebuke’ was extended in early 20th-century American English to include ‘a criminal charge’ and ‘a prison sentence’. Compare with take the fall (at fall)
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
take the ˈrap (for somebody/something)
(informal) be blamed or punished, especially for something you did not do: She was prepared to take the rap for the broken window, even though it was her brother who had kicked the ball.Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017
take the rap
verbtake the rap (for something)
tv. to take the blame for something. (see also rap.) I didn’t want to take the rap for the job, but, after all, I was guilty.
McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.
take the rap
Slang To accept punishment or take the blame for an offense or error.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.