1. Home
2. Idioms
3. 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.

See also: buck, pass

pass the buck

to make someone else responsible for something Bus companies say their drivers are causing delays, but they are just passing the buck again.

See also: buck, pass

pass the buck

to blame someone or to make them responsible for a problem that you should deal with yourself

Usage notes: In the card game poker, the buck is an object passed to the person who wins in order to remind them that they must be the first person to give money for the prize in the next game.

(sometimes + to ) Parents often try to pass the buck to teachers when children misbehave in school. Bus companies are just passing the buck by saying their drivers are responsible for delays.

See also: buck, pass

pass the buck

Shift responsibility or blame elsewhere, as in She's always passing the buck to her staff; it's time she accepted the blame herself. This expression dates from the mid-1800s, when in a poker game a piece of buckshot or another object was passed around to remind a player that he was the next dealer. It acquired its present meaning by about 1900.

See also: buck, pass

pass the buck

tv. to shift the responsibility for something to someone else; to evade responsibility. (see also buckpasser.) Don’t pass the buck. Stand up and admit you were wrong.

See also: buck, pass