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While there is no single "inventor" of the phrase, the origin of "thrown under the bus" traces back to British politics in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
It began as a hypothetical scenario ("what if he falls under a bus?") and evolved into a metaphor for active betrayal.
Here is the breakdown of how the phrase evolved from a random accident to a calculated political maneuver.
1. The Precursor: "Falling" Under a Bus (1970s)
Before people were throwing others under buses, they were worrying about falling under them. In British politics, this was a common idiom for a sudden, accidental death that would leave a power vacuum.
• Earliest Citation: In a January 1971 issue of The Spectator, Hugh MacPherson described a political parlour game called "Let's kill the Leader," which began with the hypothetical: "Supposing Harold Wilson were to go under a bus..."
• Meaning: At this stage, the bus was just a neutral agent of fate, similar to being struck by lightning.
2. The Turning Point: "Pushing" (1982)
The shift from passive accident to active betrayal appeared to happen in the early 1980s, specifically within British journalism.

The "Smoking Gun" Citation: The earliest recorded instance of the active phrase is widely credited to journalist Julian Critchley. In a June 21, 1982 article in The Times (London), he described the political rumors surrounding Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Argentine President Leopoldo Galtieri during the Falklands War:

"President Galtieri had pushed her under the bus which the gossips had said was the only means of her removal."

Evolution: Here, the bus is no longer an accident; it is a tool used by one politician to eliminate another

Posted By: footymadman on December 7th 2025 at 02:48:05

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