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Glite Dictionary
blame game

blame game

19 4.8
People or groups say others caused a problem to avoid taking responsibility
  • noun
  • /bleɪm ɡeɪm/
  • Informal
: juego de culpas
  • No need to play the blame game, Allison.
  • play the blame game
  • stop the blame game
  • continue the blame game

I'll By moving beyond the June blame game.

Examples

Synonyms

finger-pointing
vsblame game
  • Informal
32 4.6

Blaming other people for a problem instead of trying to fix it

is a broader mutual pattern often used to avoid taking responsibility
circular firing squad
vsblame game
  • Literature
3 8.8

A situation where group members blame or attack each other and harm the group's chances

is mutual blaming used to avoid responsibility rather than internal self-harm
fingerpointing
vsblame game
  • Informal
2 6.1

Telling others they are to blame, often in public

is a wider situation where groups blame each other to avoid responsibility
buck-passing
vsblame game
1 7.1

Act of putting blame on others to avoid doing a job you should do

involves reciprocally blaming each other instead of shifting responsibility to one person

Antonyms

responsibility
∞ 2.7

A duty to do something and answer for what you do

How Accusatory

witch-hunt
  • Literature
70 7.7
to scapegoat
15 4.1
blame game
  • Informal
19 4.8
argument
687 2.3

Surface Forms

blame game singular
blame games plural

Morphology

blame + game

Combining 'blame' (fault) with 'game' (an activity or competitive play) gives a learner a reasonable hint that the phrase refers to an activity of blaming, so a B1 learner who knows both words will probably guess it involves people blaming others. However, the idiomatic nuance — that it refers specifically to a mutual, strategic process to avoid responsibility rather than any literal game — is not fully predictable from the parts, so it is only partly transparent.

Etymology

Blame game paints a picture of a blame match, a game where people point fingers at others instead of fixing a problem. So, it means a situation where people blame each other to 'avoid taking responsibility' rather than solve the real issue.