take a fall
Lose your footing
To take a fall is to fall down, especially dramatically or deliberately.
Stunt performers take falls for a living.
In sports, particularly wrestling and boxing, taking a fall means losing intentionally: The boxer was paid to take a fall in the third round.
The phrase can also mean accepting blame or punishment, often for someone else's benefit: He took a fall for his boss and served two years.
- plungeSudden steep descent
- toppleCause to fall
- tumbleUncontrolled rolling descent
- scapegoatUnfairly blamed person
- slipMinor error or misstep
trip · blame · frame-up · set up · collapse · hit the ground · boxing · patsy · defeat · sacrifice · descend · accident · staged accident · failure · setback · accountability · decline · drop
take a fallwalk free
Avoid legal consequences
beat the rap · shift the blame · pass the buck · get away with it · point the finger
take, takes, taken, taking, taker, takers, takeover, takeovers, uptake