to be to blame for something
11carry the can (for something) — carry the ˈcan (for sb/sth) idiom (BrE, informal) to accept the blame for sth, especially when it is not your fault Main entry: ↑carryidiom …
12blame — blame1 W3S2 [bleım] v [T] [Date: 1100 1200; : Old French; Origin: blamer, from Late Latin blasphemare; BLASPHEME] 1.) to say or think that someone or something is responsible for something bad ▪ Don t blame me it s not my fault. ▪ I blame his… …
13blame — [[t]ble͟ɪm[/t]] ♦♦ blames, blaming, blamed 1) VERB If you blame a person or thing for something bad, you believe or say that they are responsible for it or that they caused it. [V n for n] The commission is expected to blame the army for many of… …
14for — We use for + a period of time to say how long something goes on: for six years (I ve lived in this house for six years.) for two hours (We watched television for two hours last night.) for a week (Ann is going away for a week in September.) Are… …
15blame-shift — /ˈbleɪm ʃɪft/ (say blaym shift) verb (i) to engage in tactics designed to move the blame for something that has gone wrong away from oneself. –blame shifter, noun –blame shifting, noun …
16blame — [blām] vt. blamed, blaming [ME blamen < OFr blasmer, to speak evil of < LL(Ec) blasphemare,BLASPHEME] 1. to accuse of being at fault; condemn (for something); censure 2. to find fault with (for something) 3. to place responsibility for (an… …
17blame — verb. 1. Two constructions are now standard: to blame someone for something and to blame something on someone. Gowers (1965) described the second as a needless variant, but such strictures are futile in the face of incontrovertible evidence of… …
18cast about for something — ˌcast aˈbout/aˈround for sth derived to try hard to think of or find sth, especially when this is difficult • She cast around desperately for a safe topic of conversation. • The authorities are clearly casting about for someone to blame.… …
19cast around for something — ˌcast aˈbout/aˈround for sth derived to try hard to think of or find sth, especially when this is difficult • She cast around desperately for a safe topic of conversation. • The authorities are clearly casting about for someone to blame.… …
20blame — 1 /bleIm/ verb (T) 1 to say or think that someone or something is responsible for something bad: It s not fair to blame me it s not my fault we lost. | blame sb/sth for: Mom blamed herself for Danny s problems. | The report blames poor safety… …
