carry the can
carry the can — 慣用語
1. to be held responsible for a bad outcome that you did not cause alone, or to be
背黑鍋
獨自承擔過錯或責任
to be held responsible for a bad outcome that you did not cause alone, or to be punished when others share the fault
The whole team made the mistake, but only Ayana had to carry the can in front of the manager.
整個團隊都犯了錯，但只有 Ayana 必須在主管面前背黑鍋。
carry the can + for others' mistakes
Anjali knew she would be the one to carry the can if the project failed, so she double-checked every detail.
Anjali 知道自己會在專案失敗時成為背黑鍋的人，所以她反覆檢查了每個細節。
When the event ran over budget, the junior staff refused to carry the can for decisions made by senior management.
活動超出預算時，基層員工拒絕為高層主管的決定背黑鍋。
Selim admitted the error immediately instead of letting a colleague carry the can alone.
Selim 立即坦承錯誤，而不是讓同事獨自背黑鍋。
- take the fall
more common in American English; same meaning of accepting blame
- shoulder the blame
slightly more formal, implies voluntary acceptance
- bear the brunt
closer to 'suffer the worst part' rather than just blame
- pass the buck
to shift responsibility onto someone else
文法句型
carry the can + for + [noun phrase]
用法筆記
Typically used in workplace or group settings. The person 'carrying the can' is often singled out unfairly or is the one who has to answer to a superior.