Throw Someone Under the Bus

Likely British in origin, and specifically political. An early relative, "push someone under a bus," is attributed to the British Prime Minister Harold Wilson in a 1971 television interview, and by the early 1980s, variations like "under the bus theory" were showing up regularly in British political journalism. Julian Critchley used the phrase directly in The Times of London in June 1982, writing that a political rival had been pushed "under the bus." From British politics, the expression crossed to America, took hold in sports and business commentary, and became especially popular in political coverage during the 2008 US presidential election.