To throw someone under the bus” is defined as meaning “to sacrifice; to treat as a scapegoat; to betray,” but . . . the key to the phrase really lies in the element of utter betrayal, the sudden, brutal sacrifice of a stalwart and loyal teammate for a temporary and often minor advantage.”

It’s been a few years now since I first heard people in companies saying things like, “He threw me under the bus!”, “She wanted to throw him under the bus.” and “He really threw him under the bus!”  When I first heard this expression I was amused as my mind turned it into a cartoon where one character was literally throwing another under a moving bus . . . Thump Thump.

After a few years of hearing the expression and watching its use penetrate media and corporate circles I’m not so amused anymore (although the cartoon still gets me).  I started thinking, “Where did the phrase come from?”  And before there was a phrase, there was something going on that apparently needed a phrase so we could talk about it.  What was that?  So I did a little research.  I couldn’t find anyone who knew the origin of the phrase, but I found a definition of it online in The Word Detective:

Definition: “To throw someone under the bus” is defined as meaning “to sacrifice; to treat as a scapegoat; to betray,” but . . . the key to the phrase really lies in the element of utter betrayal, the sudden, brutal sacrifice of a stalwart and loyal teammate for a temporary and often minor advantage.”

I couldn’t have defined it better.  This is ugly stuff!  Utter betrayal.  The sudden, brutal sacrifice of a stalwart and loyal teammate for a temporary and often minor advantage.  Wow!

A Pervasive Problem: Let’s not pretend that we haven’t all done this ourselves.  When I was a kid my brother and I used to throw each other under the bus until we realized it just wasn’t worth it.  One time my brother got me in trouble by telling my mom I forgot to take out the trash.  As the pitch of my mother’s voice started to rise I quickly deflected with, “Did you hear about the explosion he had when he was playing with the chemistry set?”  Thump Thump.