pass the buck

Idiomatic Expressions

Meaning

Shift responsibility or blame to someone else.

Primary Function

Avoidance of accountability.

Communicative Purpose

To criticise deflection of duty.

Pattern

pass the buck

Core Structure

pass the buck

Função primária

Avoidance of accountability.

Propósito comunicativo

To criticise deflection of duty.

Situações de gatilho

Blame games, bureaucracy, poor management.

Contextos

Workplace politics, politics.

Padrão

pass the buck

Estrutura central

pass the buck

Slots de substituição

none

Colocados típicos

try to
don’t
always

Substituições comuns

shift the blame

Erros comuns

pass buck (missing article)

Similar / contraste

point fingers

Interferências

Not about money.

Família do chunk

Responsibility-avoidance idioms

Nuance

Negative, critical.

Efeito pragmático

Highlights lack of ownership.

Dica de memória

Poker “buck” marker being slid to next dealer.

Nota

This idiom is often used in professional and political contexts to criticize those who avoid taking responsibility. It's important to note that the expression is negative and should be used carefully to avoid sounding accusatory.

Upgrade path

delegate accountability inappropriately (formal)

Frequência: HighFormulaicidade: FixedTipo de construção: IdiomPrioridade de aquisição: UnknownPrioridade de output: BothTag de espaçamento: Short-termIdioma?: Sim

Examples

During the project meeting, when things went wrong, someone said, ‘Let’s pass the buck to the design team.’

The manager refused to take responsibility; he simply replied, ‘I can’t fix it now—pass the buck to the next person on the list.’

In a political debate, critics accused each other of passing the buck for budget cuts by blaming previous administrations.

Variations

passing the buck

buck-passing