Even so, Sprint seems to have effectively used Lightsquared as a whipping boy for Clearwire in their negotiations.

FORBES: Clearwire: The Little Engine That Might

McCarthy became a favourite whipping boy for the left.

ECONOMIST: McCarthyism

He clearly cares deeply about the title character (Vincent Gallo), a writer living in Buenos Aires, who had been the darling, and is now the whipping boy, of a dominant local critic.

NEWYORKER: Tetro

Before the weekend was over, Casey was in the middle of a transatlantic storm and Colin Montgomerie's position as every drunk American golf fan's favourite European whipping boy looked precarious.

BBC: Candid Casey eyes fresh start