(n.) A scapegoat is an event person or object that is used to
lay the blame on for all that goes wrong, regardless of the contributions of others. This will usually carry on until the scapegoat has gone, or has managed to successfully defend itself against the arguements presented to it.
The word comes from Judaism. During mass reconciliation the rabbi would bring a
goat to the alter. The sins of the people would be absorbed into the
goat, and it would then be killed, its' blood staining the alter until cleansed. This is what
Jesus Christ reflected in his crucifixion, being a scapegoat.
(v.) to make the scapegoat
I will not be made a scapegoat.
To be a scapegoat is to take
heat.
Scapegoat was often burned, but sometimes the
poor stole it and ate it.