fall guy, redux

[Marc Velasco]

Speaking of Barry Popik, I was going through the archives to see what this
list has for the term 'fall guy.'  Apparently, Popik has a bevy of citations
around 1903, 1904.  But to my eye, the term is already being used in a
variety of contexts, with subtly different meanings, even in his earliest
batch of citations.

So, apparently it leaves open the question of the term's original meaning
and usage.

Does anybody have any info/interpretations that might elucidate?

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