【Catch Phrase】背锅(bēi guō)

Meaning:

The more traditional saying is “背黑锅,” (literally, “carry a black pot on one’s back”) which means to act as a scapegoat for someone else or come under fire for something one is not really responsible for. There are variants of this saying that are popular among Chinese netizens. For example, “这锅我不背” (literally, “I don’t want to carry this pot on my back”) is a proclamation that one would not accept other people’s unfair judgement.

Example:

A: 前段时间有几部国产电影票房不好，有人怪影评网站打分太低。

Qiánduàn shíjiān yǒu jǐbù guóchǎn diànyǐng piàofáng bù hǎo, yǒu rén guài yǐngpíng wǎngzhàn dǎfēn tài dī。

A few domestic movies did not meet expectations at the box office recently, and some people blamed it on the low ratings at some movie review sites.

B: 影评网站一定不愿背锅。电影不好看才是票房不佳的原因。

Yǐngpíng wǎngzhàn yīdìng bùyuàn bēiguō。Diànyǐng bù hǎokàn cái shì piàofáng bù jiā de yuányīn。

The websites certainly disagree. Box office failure is the result of lousy movies.

(Edited by Stephanie Yang)