throw under the bus

English

throw under the bus

(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.
(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