1
general::
Incur blame or censure for another's misdeeds, as in She's taken the fall for you in terms of any political damage, or A senior official took the fall for the failed intelligence operation. This expression originated in the 1920s as underworld slang. It began to be extended to less criminal kinds of blame in the second half of the 1900s. Also see TAKE A FALL, def. 2.
American Heritage Idioms
2
general::
Phrase(s): take the fall
Sl. to get arrested for a particular crime. (Especially when others are going unpunished for the same crime. • Walt and Tony pulled the job off together, but Tony took the fall. • You did it, and I won’t take the fall!
McGrawhill's American Idioms And Phrasal Verbs