pass the buck

pass the buck
pass the buck
Fig. to pass the blame (to someone else); to give the responsibility (to someone else). (See also The buck stops here.) •

Don't try to pass the buck! It's your fault, and everybody knows it.

Some people try to pass the buck whenever they can.

* * *
{v. phr.}, {informal} To make another person decide something or accept a responsibility or give orders instead of doing it yourself; shift or escape responsibility or blame; put the duty or blame on someone else. * /Mrs. Brown complained to the man who sold her the bad meat, but he only passed the buck and told her to see the manager./ * /If you break a window, do not pass the buck; admit that you did it./ Compare: LET GEORGE DO IT. -[buck-passer] {n. phr.} A person who passes the buck. * /Mr. Jones was a buck-passer even at home, and tried to make his wife make all the decisions./ - [buck-passing] {n.} or {adj.} * /Buck-passing clerks in stores make customers angry./

Dictionary of American idioms. 2013.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • pass the buck — {v. phr.}, {informal} To make another person decide something or accept a responsibility or give orders instead of doing it yourself; shift or escape responsibility or blame; put the duty or blame on someone else. * /Mrs. Brown complained to the… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • Pass the Buck — may refer to: *Pass the Buck (pricing game), a pricing game on The Price Is Right * Pass the Buck (game show), a 1978 game show hosted by Bill Cullen * Pass the Buck (Australian game show), a 2002 game show hosted by John Burgessplease write this …   Wikipedia

  • pass the buck — If you pass the buck, you avoid taking responsibility by saying that someone else is responsible …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • pass the buck — ► to blame someone or make them responsible for a problem that you do not want to deal with: »Politicians were criticized for passing the buck on health care reform. Main Entry: ↑buck …   Financial and business terms

  • pass the buck — ► pass the buck informal shift responsibility to someone else. Main Entry: ↑buck …   English terms dictionary

  • pass the buck — phrasal : to shift a responsibility to someone else inclined to pass the buck to some other futile body Sir Winston Churchill * * * pass the buck (slang) To shift the responsibility to someone else (from the practice of passing the marker to the… …   Useful english dictionary

  • pass\ the\ buck — v. phr. informal To make another person decide something or accept a responsibility or give orders instead of doing it yourself; shift or escape responsibility or blame; put the duty or blame on someone else. Mrs. Brown complained to the man who… …   Словарь американских идиом

  • pass the buck — tv. to shift the responsibility for something to someone else; to evade responsibility. (See also buck passer.) □ When things get a little tough, do what I do. Pass the buck. □ Don’t pass the buck. Stand up and admit you were wrong …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • pass the buck —    If you pass the buck, you avoid taking responsibility by saying that someone else is responsible.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    If you say that someone is passing the buck, you are accusing them of not taking responsibility for a… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

  • pass the buck — to blame someone or to make them responsible for a problem that you should deal with yourself. Parents often try to pass the buck to teachers when children misbehave in school. (sometimes + to) Bus companies are just passing the buck by saying… …   New idioms dictionary

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