“Throwing Someone Under the Bus” Has a Complicated History

Hello, you have A Way with Words.

Hi, this is Via from Harwich, Massachusetts.

Welcome to the show. What’s on your mind?

I was wondering the origin of to throw someone in the bus because, you know, it doesn’t seem right for it to be someone actually throwing another person in the bus.

No, not really, does it? Is this something that you’ve, a phrase you’ve run across in your life?

I’m in high school. I’m in freshman year. So I hear like different phrases all the time. And most of them I understand. But then this one, it’s just like, I know what it’s supposed to mean, but I don’t know the origin of it.

And what does it mean in your world?

Like to betray someone.

Oh, yeah. That’s a great word for it. Betrayal. High school betrayal is the worst betrayal.

Throw someone under the bus.

You know, I have an entry for that in my 2006 book, The Official Dictionary of Unofficial English.

But since I published that book, Merriam-Webster has done excellent research on this topic.

Just a really fantastic essay on this.

And so I’m going to point to that.

We’ll link to it on the website.

But to summarize the work that they’ve done, which improves upon the work that I did, they’ve traced this to British English, which surprised me quite a bit because I hadn’t found what they found.

But new information is appearing in the digital databases all the time.

And they found it used in British politics as a maneuver to kind of shift blame or responsibility or to gain some kind of control over a political situation.

And the best example that they have in print is from 1982.

This is in the London Times.

And it, quote, she was in deep trouble and the lobbies hummed with their prospect of her departure.

President Galtieri had pushed her under the bust, which the gossips had said was the only means of her removal.

And it’s not a literal pushing under the bust.

It’s a figurative one.

And it’s exactly like we use it today, even though it’s from 1982.

That’s 40 years ago.

It’s crazy to think that this expression has been around that long because it feels so contemporary, doesn’t it?

Yeah, definitely.

This is new information that Merriam-Webster found, and it kind of replaces all other theories on the origin of Throw Someone Under the Bus that you might find.

Yeah.

How about that?

That’s not what I expected, to be honest, politics.

What were you expecting?

Yeah, what were you thinking?

I don’t know what I was expecting.

Politics? It was not on your mind. British politics? You’re like, how does that make it to my high school?

Yeah.

So basically just a metaphor.

And I guess if it’s in England, it’s going to be even more painful if it’s a double-decker bus that you’re getting thrown under.

Those red buses hurt more.

Is that what you’re saying?

They’re bigger.

But that’s all that we know.

Again, like I said, you’ll find some other theories out there.

But those are old theories and they’re outdated.

You’ll find theories that it comes from touring bands or it comes from sports.

Those are no longer accurate.

Yeah.

Got it?

Well, thank you.

Yeah, super duper.

Call us again sometime.

You know, we’re going to hire you as our field worker in Massachusetts high schools.

That’s what we’re going to do.

You have to report back with some slang and new language, okay?

Yeah, please do.

Thank you for your call today.

In any case, we’re happy to have you.

Thank you for having me.

All right.

Be well.

Take care.

Bye.

Take care.

Bye-bye.

Bye-bye.

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