Definition

1. Noun:
   • Stooge or scapegoat: A person who is used by others to take blame, criticism, or ridicule in their place. This person often acts as a shield or a substitute target in a difficult or embarrassing situation.
   • Historical military object: Originally, a straw gabion or protective barrier used to absorb arrows or projectiles in ancient warfare. This literal meaning is now archaic but forms the basis for the modern figurative usage.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Anh ta không muốn làm bung xung cho những sai lầm của sếp. (He did not want to be the stooge for his boss's mistakes.)
  • Trong cuộc họp, cô ấy bị đẩy ra làm bung xung, chịu mọi chỉ trích. (In the meeting, she was pushed to be the scapegoat, bearing all the criticism.)
  • Đứng ra làm bung xung, chịu cho thiên hạ chê cười. (To step up to act as a stooge and expose oneself to public ridicule.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is almost exclusively used in a negative, derogatory context to describe a person being exploited or set up. It implies a lack of agency or respect for the person in the "bung xung" role.
• It can be used in organizational, political, or social contexts where blame is unfairly assigned.

Variants and Related Words

• Vật hy sinh (n): A sacrifice; something or someone offered up or sacrificed, often for a cause.
• Bia đỡ đạn (n, idiom): Literally "bulletproof shield"; a common modern synonym for a person who takes blame or criticism for others.

Synonyms

• Scapegoat: A person who is blamed for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others.
• Stooge: A person used by another to do unpleasant or routine work, or one who is tricked into taking blame.
• Fall guy: A person who is left to take the blame for something.

Related Idioms

• Làm bia đỡ đạn: To act as a human shield or to be the target of blame.
  • Anh ấy luôn bị bắt làm bia đỡ đạn cho cả nhóm. (He is always forced to be the fall guy for the whole team.)
• Chịu trận thay: To endure a battle or difficulty on someone else's behalf. This phrase captures the sense of substitution present in "bung xung."

noun

1. Stooge, scapegoat
   • đứng ra làm bung xung, chịu cho thiên hạ chê cười
     to act as a stooge and expose oneself to public ridicule