"Shooting the messenger" (also "killing the messenger" or "attacking the messenger" or "blaming the bearer of bad tidings") is a metaphoric phrase used to describe the act of blaming the bearer of bad news.[1] Until the advent of modern telecommunication, messages were usually delivered by human envoys.[2] For example, in war, a messenger would be sent from one camp to another. If the message was unfitting, the receiver might blame the messenger for such bad news and take their anger out on them.