Throw under the bus

To throw (someone) under the bus is an idiomatic phrase in American English meaning to sacrifice a friend or ally for selfish reasons. It is typically used to describe a self-defensive disavowal and severance of a previously-friendly relationship when the relation becomes controversial or unpopular.

The phrase has been widely popularized by sports journalists since 2004 and was picked up by the mainstream media during the 2008 political primary season. It has frequently been used to describe various politicians distancing themselves from suddenly unpopular or controversial figures whom the candidate has previously allied themselves with. David Segal, a writer for The Washington Post, calls the expression "the cliché of the 2008 campaign".

In a March 2008 NPR report, the linguist Geoff Nunberg noted that "under the bus" "has appeared in more than 400 press stories on the campaign over the last six months".

Origins

A relative early use is attributed by the Double-Tongued Dictionary to a 1991 article in the Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph.

Cyndi Lauper^[1] is sometimes wrongly quoted as saying in The Washington Post in 1984: "In the rock ’n’ roll business, you are either on the bus or under it. Playing 'Feelings' with Eddie and the Condos in a buffet bar in Butte is under the bus." However, those lines were written by journalist David Remnick and they are not attributed in the article to Lauper or anyone else.

Examples

• Wired magazine asked "Did Egypt's Army Just Throw Mubarak Under The Bus?" after the Egyptian Army issued a statement saying it will not crack down on protesters during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
• ZDNet held a debate that asked, "Did Microsoft throw users under the bus?" after their announcement of Windows Phone 8.
• The Boston Globe headlined a story that asserted NFL coach "Bill Belichick throws Tom Brady under the bus" during the Deflategate scandal.
• The Haiti Sentinel published an article entitled "Election fraud: Red Cross throws Health Ministry under the bus" when the president of the agency said it was illegal for the Haitian government to use its brand and insignia on its vehicles. He was denying accusations that the international relief organization assisted in electoral fraud.