pass the buck

Meaning

This expression means to shift responsibility or blame to someone else to avoid dealing with a problem yourself. It is commonly used in casual or workplace contexts when someone refuses to take ownership of a mistake. The tone is often critical of the person avoiding responsibility.

Examples

• Instead of fixing the error, he tried to pass the buck to the intern.

  Instead of fixing the error, he tried to pass the buck to the intern.

• Don't try to pass the buck; we all know you were in charge of this project.

  Don't try to pass the buck; we all know you were in charge of this project.

• In politics, everyone loves to pass the buck when things go wrong.

  In politics, everyone loves to pass the buck when things go wrong.

• She is a great manager because she never passes the buck to her team.

  She is a great manager because she never passes the buck to her team.

• I'm tired of people passing the buck instead of just solving the issue.

  I'm tired of people passing the buck instead of just solving the issue.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ He passed the dollar to me when the boss asked who did it.

  ✓ He passed the buck to me when the boss asked who did it.

  Learners sometimes translate 'buck' literally to money, but 'pass the buck' is a fixed idiom where 'buck' cannot be substituted with other currency terms.

• ✗ She tried to pass the buck on her sister.

  ✓ She tried to pass the buck to her sister.

  The correct preposition to indicate the recipient of the shifted blame or responsibility is 'to', not 'on'.

Related Expressions

Practice

• When the client complained, Mark tried to ___ to the design team.

  💡 shift the blame

  Show answer

  pass the buck

• A good leader takes responsibility instead of ___.

  💡 shifting the blame (use the -ing form)

  Show answer

  passing the buck