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Glite Dictionary
to carry the can

to carry the can

1 7.9
To accept blame or responsibility that others refuse
  • idiom
  • UK
translation icon : asumir la culpa
  • After the project failed, I had to carry the can for the team's mistakes.

Examples

  • That wasn't my fault, but I'd have to carry the can along with everyone else if things continued to get more and more screwed up.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • I've been away a little while and before I went away, carrying the can for everyone, I had people like you running round selling twigs and seeds for me.

    Ill Manors (2012)

  • And someone, somewhere, is trying to make us carry the can.

    Brazil (1985)

  • We carry the can for the decisions, here.

    The World's Fastest Indian (2005)

  • As long as she carries the can with her when she goes.

    Bad Girls: The Musical (2009)

  • Who's gonna carry the can for this farrago of shit?

    The Death of Stalin (2017)

  • It's unfair that she has to carry the can for decisions made by the entire committee.

  • When the event was poorly organized, the manager ended up having to carry the can for the blunders.

Synonyms

to take responsibility
vsto carry the can
193 3.3

To admit you caused a problem and accept the blame

focuses on accepting blame when others avoid responsibility
to take the fall
vsto carry the can
  • Informal
55 7.5

Accept blame or punishment, often instead of someone else

means taking blame even when others avoid involvement, not only substituting
to own it
vsto carry the can
  • Informal
43 7.0

Admit a fault or a personal quality and act confidently

involves accepting blame even when others avoid it, not always proudly
to face the music
vsto carry the can
  • Informal
19 4.5

Accept and deal with unpleasant results or criticism for something you did

centres on accepting blame especially when others avoid it
to hold the bag
vsto carry the can
  • Informal
11 8.8

End up responsible for the blame or a problem others avoid

accepts blame by choice rather than only being left with it
to pay the freight
vsto carry the can
  • Informal
1 8.1

To accept the cost or bad result of something

stresses accepting blame when others avoid that responsibility

How Responsible

to carry the can
  • UK
1 7.9
to own up
  • Informal
38 4.4

Surface Forms

carry the can infinitive
carried the can past
carried the can past participle
carrying the can present participle
carries the can third person singular

Morphology

carry + the + can

The verb 'carry' can mean 'bear' or 'take responsibility', so part of the MWE's sense is accessible to learners who know that sense. However, the use of 'can' as the thing being carried (and thus standing for blame/responsibility) is idiomatic and not transparently derived from the literal constituents, so the full meaning requires prior exposure.

Etymology

The idiom carry the can may come from a simple image: in a group, the person left holding the heavy can after a mistake was the one blamed, so they literally 'carried' the blame. That's why carry the can means 'to accept responsibility'.