Definitions
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb idiomatic, informal To transfer
responsibility orblame from oneself onto another; toabsolve oneself of concern for a given matter by claiming to lackauthority orjurisdiction .
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
May have originated with the game of poker, in which a marker or counter, frequently in frontier days a knife with a buckhorn handle, was used to indicate the person whose turn it was to deal. If the player did not wish to deal he could pass the responsibility by passing the "buckhorn" or "buck", as the marker came to be called, to the next player.
Support
Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word pass the buck.
Examples
Sorry, no example sentences found.
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.