Shooting the messenger
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"Shooting the messenger" is a phrase describing the act of lashing out at the (blameless) bearer of bad news.
In ancient times, messages were delivered in person by a human messenger. Sometimes, in times of war, the messenger would be from the enemy. An easily-provoked recipient would take out his anger on the person delivering the message, literally killing the messenger. In modern usage, the expression refers to any kind of punishment of the person bringing bad news.
Alternative expressions:
- "Killing the messenger"
- "Attacking the messenger"
- "Blaming the bearer of bad tidings"
The advice "Don't shoot the messenger" was first expressed by Shakespeare in Henry IV, part 2 (1598) and in Antony and Cleopatra (1606-07). Prior to that, a related sentiment was expressed in Antigone by Sophocles as "No one loves the messenger who brings bad news."[link].
"Attacking the messenger" is also the colloquial name of the ad hominem logical fallacy.
A syntactically similar expression is "Don't shoot the piano player; he's doing the best he can". It originated around 1860 in the Wild West of the United States. During his 1883 tour of the United States, Oscar Wilde saw this saying on a notice in a Leadville, Colorado, saloon. This phrase (like many witty sayings of that era) is sometimes attributed to Mark Twain, but neither Wilde nor Twain ever claimed authorship.
See also
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