A sacrificial lamb is a metaphorical reference to a person or animal sacrificed (killed or discounted in some way) for the common good. The term is derived from the traditions of Abrahamic religion where a lamb is a highly valued possession.
In politics
In politics, a sacrificial lamb candidate is a candidate chosen to contest an election despite the fact that he or she has little chance of victory. The political party thus appoints the person as a sort of "sacrifice" to the stronger opponent.
In some cases, fielding a sacrificial lamb candidate can serve as an opportunity for the party to be more creative in choosing a candidate than would normally be considered acceptable in a closely contested race. For instance, Alan Keyes or Geraldine A. Ferraro. In 2004, Howard Mills was considered a sacrificial lamb candidate for the U.S. Senate from New York against Chuck Schumer.
In the arts
In cinema and literature, the term sacrificial lamb refers to a supporting character whose sole dramatic purpose is to die, thus galvanizing the protagonist to action and simultaneously demonstrating how evil the villain is. Very often, the sacrificial lamb is a family member, partner, or "old buddy" of the protagonist, with whom he or she has an assumed intimacy, thus requiring no real character development. The term is almost always used critically, with the implication that the character was used transparently as a plot device.
Find it Take it Get it while you can Make it Waste it sacrificial lamb On the altar, crush it in your hand Fix to break it Sacrificial Lamb Who? Who? You, you. Who? Who? You and me too I can be your everything I can be your nothing, no one Misery. I can be your anything I can be your nothing, no one misery. You can make me history. Tear it open Make it what you can Eyes that bleed through Sacrificial Lamb. Broken Secrets You don't understand Close off Shut down Sacrificial Lamb You can make me history. Tear me open let me out. End it here and show me how. Sacrifice what's left of me,
Blowouts were inevitable in the expanded College Football Playoff as 12 teams reached the postseason for the first time ... But in a lopsided 41-21 rout at the hands of Ohio State, Oregon looked the part of a sacrificial lamb ... 6 team with two losses ... .
... named characters—with only poor, sweet Young-mi dying here as a sacrificial lamb—the latest game has not only solidified the life-or-death stakes of continuing on with the Games, but the moral ones.
Ahead of Eid al-Adha, a controversy erupted in Mira Road, Maharashtra when some members of the Bajrang Dal created a ruckus and attacked Muslim families who brought lambs for sacrifice ... Bajrang Dal creates ruckus on Mira Road over sacrificial animals.
[Editor’s note ...That's Squid Game for you ... Speaking of ... All of whom then get sidelined, as we watch a set of sacrificial lambs utterly fail to complete a six-legged race that requires players to complete a series of childish mini-games in sequence ... .
taking care of the Passover lambs from their birth through their sacrifice ... become Passover lambs ... Jesus, our sacrificial Passover Lamb, at the time of his birth, was already wearing his priestly robe.
Shary planted the first large commercial citrus orchard in the Valley ...Credit ... Credit ... The U.S ...State Department's refusal to force Mexico to comply, believing the Valley is the sacrificial lamb in larger political or trade negotiations between the U.S ... .
From the vantage point, the greyish-green Siang river and the hills it snakes between are serene. The Siang, which unleashes its fury in the monsoons, is almost languid in the winter ... We cannot be treated like bali ka bakra (sacrificial lambs).
... to the Indian tradition of praising individual stars above the game.'When they are (captains) out of form, it is what creates a problem and other players end up as the sacrificial lambs for it.
Illustration ...Sigh ... I generally prefer a more oblique Christmas tale, and also, using a woman as a sacrificial lamb who must fornicate her way into an early grave for the sake of humanity just feels a little too I don’t know puritanical for my tastes.
... their brains hard coded into new, healthier bodies (a process which tends to involve the poor serving as the sacrificial lambs), this sci-fi noir feels like Philip K Dick and Mass Effect had a baby.
But first, a problem that needs to be solved ... Where were you when Georgia won the national title after it blew out TCU by 58 points, the largest win ever in a bowl game? Stringing up sacrificial lambs are nothing new in college football ... 1 . Oregon ... 2 .
ONCE again the sugar mafia has reared its ugly head, with the people being the sacrificial lambs. In just 20 days, the ex-mill price of sugar has jumped from Rs115 per kg to Rs125 ... What makes this crisis even more baff-ling is its timing ... Gulab Umid ... .
Many critics will see the move as a predictable one. A source close to proceedings told TelegraphSport last night that “if the RFU had any sense, they would make Ilube a sacrificial lamb or a scapegoat” ... “I could the report write now,” they said ... RFU ... .
