pagar el pato

Spanish

Verb

pagar el pato (first-person singular present pago el pato, first-person singular preterite pagué el pato, past participle pagado el pato)

1. (idiomatic) to bear the brunt; to take the rap

Further reading

• “pagar el pato alguien”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 2024 December 10