bum rap
8
9.1
- noun
- /bʌm ræp/
- Informal
:
crítica injusta
- Throwing you out was a bum rap.
- get a bum rap
- really a bum rap
- bit of a bum rap
And that was apparent enough in my lack of fear over the accusation in my students willingness to actually stand up and say that it was a bum rap.
- And that was apparent enough in my lack of fear over the accusation in my students willingness to actually stand up and say that it was a bum rap.
Examples
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The Japanese get a bum rap for xenophobia, mostly by Americans who go over, speak to them in English, and then call them 'inscrutable' when they don't respond in fluent, idiomatic English.
Blog text (11) -
Well, they had me downtown for two weeks on a bum rap.
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A friend of mine's in jail on a bum rap.
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I could be the only guy standing between Molly and 20 years on a bum rap.
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While African leaders should certainly not be excused for their financial misdeeds, Africa in general has gotten more of a bum rap than it deserves.
Academic text (2007) -
Many people believe he received a bum rap for decisions made long ago.
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It seems unfair that she has to deal with a bum rap from critics who don't understand her work.
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After the scandal, he ended up with a bum rap that affected his career for years.
Synonyms
105
7.7
Blame given to someone for a wrong act, often unfair
1
8.6
A remark or action that unfairly harms someone's reputation
Antonyms
How Unfair
Surface Forms
Morphology
The components 'bum' (colloquially 'bad' or 'inferior') and 'rap' (informal 'blame' or 'accusation') together suggest a negative or 'bad' accusation, so a learner who knows those senses could infer it relates to blame. However, the slangy nature of 'rap' and the specific nuance that the blame is unfair or undeserved are not fully predictable from the parts, making the expression only partially transparent.
Etymology
Bum rap likely comes from old American slang: bum meant a poor or disliked person and rap meant a quick blame or charge, so a bum rap was a blame put on someone people thought easy to blame. That's why today it means 'an unfair or undeserved criticism or punishment'.