bum rapn.
/ˌbʌm ˈrap/, U.S. /ˈbəm ˈræp/ slang (originally and chiefly U.S.).
1. A false charge or conviction; an undeserved criminal punishment.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > [noun] > undeserved
bum rap1913
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > accusation, allegation, or indictment > [noun] > a charge, accusation, or allegation > false charge
bought plea1599
bum rap1913
1913 Chicago Tribune 5 June 5/4 They'll frame a ‘bum rap’ on me before I've been out of stir a week.
1950 H. Patterson & E. Conrad Scottsboro Boy iii. iii. 192 He was given life in jail for beating up a white man. To make a stronger case they put a false charge of robbery against him. The whole thing a bum rap.
1991 Independent 5 Jan. 24/3 The wide-boy antique dealer..irritated that he's been handed a bum rap for handling stolen goods.
2004 N.Y. Daily News (Nexis) 19 Aug. (Sports Final ed.) 15 The Serbian college student accused of stomping a classmate into a coma is ‘depressed’ and getting a bum rap from American authorities, his parents complained yesterday.
2. An unjust criticism; an instance of being undeservedly blamed for something.
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1921 Chicago Tribune 30 Sept. 10 Poor Tommy O'Connor got a bum rap for the time being.
1960 Pittsburgh Courier 23 July 25 The colorful Latin has the reputation of being..a ‘bad fellow’ to have on a ball club. There is no justification for such a bum rap, of course, but Vic is stuck with it.
1980 Outdoor Life (U.S.) Oct. (Northeast ed.) 138/1 Two years ago a local chapter of the National Rifle Association hung a bum rap on Udall as ‘likely to vote for gun registration’.
2003 K. Hosseini Kite Runner (2004) xv. 172 I always thought clichés got a bum rap. Because, often, they're dead-on.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2018; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1913