Antonyms for pass buck


Grammar : Verb
Spell : buhk
Phonetic Transcription : bÊŒk


Definition of pass buck

Origin :
  • "male deer," c.1300, earlier "male goat;" from Old English bucca "male goat," from Proto-Germanic *bukkon (cf. Old Saxon buck, Middle Dutch boc, Dutch bok, Old High German boc, German Bock, Old Norse bokkr), perhaps from a PIE root *bhugo (cf. Avestan buza "buck, goat," Armenian buc "lamb"), but some speculate that it is from a lost pre-Germanic language. Barnhart says Old English buc "male deer," listed in some sources, is a "ghost word or scribal error."
  • Meaning "dollar" is 1856, American English, perhaps an abbreviation of buckskin, a unit of trade among Indians and Europeans in frontier days, attested in this sense from 1748. Pass the buck is first recorded in the literal sense 1865, American English:
  • The 'buck' is any inanimate object, usually knife or pencil, which is thrown into a jack pot and temporarily taken by the winner of the pot. Whenever the deal reaches the holder of the 'buck', a new jack pot must be made. [J.W. Keller, "Draw Poker," 1887]
  • Perhaps originally especially a buck-handled knife. The figurative sense of "shift responsibility" is first recorded 1912. Buck private is recorded by 1870s, of uncertain signification.
  • As in transfer : verb pass possession to
  • As in blame : verb accuse; place responsibility
  • As in pass the buck : verb pass responsibility on to another
  • As in elude : verb avoid; escape
  • As in equivocate : verb avoid an issue
  • As in hedge : verb avoid, dodge
Example sentences :
  • His only thought was the dogged determination to reach and pass Buck.
  • Extract from : « The Boy Scouts of Lakeville High » by Leslie W. Quirk

Synonyms for pass buck

Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019