Whipping boy

Whipping boy called in feudal time a boy of lower rank who was punished in courts instead of the noble offspring if a direct punishment of the noble children was not allowed due to the lower rank of the punisher. Whipping boys often grew up together with the noble offspring, creating a social and emotional bond was formed. So had the corporal punishment of whipping boy as indirect psychological punishment of the noble child.

Nowadays, the term whipping boy usually is used as a synonym for a scapegoat, someone who or which serves as an outlet for social and / or structural discrepancies.