sacrificial lamb

sacrificial lamb (plural sacrificial lambs)

1. A lamb killed as an offering to the gods.
2. (figurative, by extension) A person who is sacrificed (not literally) for the greater good of some cause.

• scapegoat

• “sacrificial lamb”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “sacrificial lamb”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.
• “sacrificial lamb” (US) / “sacrificial lamb” (UK) in Macmillan English Dictionary.