Meaning
To take the blame or bear the responsibility when something goes wrong, especially on behalf of others who were equally or more at fault. It is chiefly British and usually carries a note of unfairness - the person left answering for a failure that was not theirs alone. Informal and chiefly British; carries sympathy for the scapegoat rather than condemnation. Regional use: British English.
Origin
Chiefly British services slang. World Wide Words finds the first recorded uses in the late 1920s, while Eric Partridge's Dictionary of Historical Slang traced the expression to the late 19th century; the earliest documented examples are Royal Navy. The leading theory, favoured by Partridge and apparently by the OED's citations, is that the man sent to fetch the beer for his messmates had to carry the can there and back and answer for any spillage - many early citations in fact read 'carry the can back', returning the empty can being the real burden. Competing stories about soldiers hauling fuel cans or miners carrying explosives are speculative. Michael Quinion adds that the phrase may have begun as a joking play on the older 'carry the cag' (to bear a grudge) and then, in his words, taken on a life of its own; the exact derivation is unsettled.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- be left carrying the can
- carry the can back
- carry the can for someone
- left to carry the can
Usage Examples
- When the product launch flopped, the marketing director was left carrying the can.
- Junior staff often carry the can for decisions taken above them.
- The chairwoman made it clear that ministers, not officials, would carry the can for the delay.