What does 'throw someone under the bus' mean?

What it means: To blame or sacrifice someone else to protect yourself from criticism or consequences. If your colleague makes a mistake and you tell your boss it was entirely their fault (even if you were involved), you've thrown them under the bus.

Why it's negative: It implies deliberate betrayal - you've chosen your own safety over loyalty to someone. It's one of the more serious things you can accuse someone of in a professional setting.

• "When things went wrong, he threw his whole team under the bus."
• "I'm not going to throw her under the bus - we both made mistakes."
• "That was a real under-the-bus moment."

What it implies: The person acting knows what they're doing. It's not an accident - it's a choice to sacrifice someone for personal gain.

• "Blame someone else to cover yourself" - plain description
• "Sell someone out" - informal, similar meaning
• "Shift the blame onto someone" - neutral, describes the action
• "Stab someone in the back" - similar betrayal, but more about hidden actions

Register: Casual to professional. Very common in workplace discussions about politics and blame.

Tags: workplace English, idiom, blame, betrayal, office politics