Throw Someone Under the Bus
= cause someone else to suffer in order to save oneself or gain personal advantage
*This is a metaphorical expression. We are not literally throwing someone under a bus.
Ex: When the parents asked their sons who spilled the paint, one of the brothers “threw his other brother under the bus” by saying it was all his fault.
Ex: The president made an embarrassing mistake, but instead of accepting the blame, “he threw the vice president under the bus” by blaming the mistake on him.
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