See pass the buck in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"etymology_text": "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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "passes the buck",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "passing the buck",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "passed the buck",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "passed the buck",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "pass the buck (third-person singular simple present passes the buck, present participle passing the buck, simple past and past participle passed the buck)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
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{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
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"Entry maintenance"
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{
"kind": "other",
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{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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},
{
"kind": "other",
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{
"kind": "other",
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{
"kind": "other",
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"source": "w"
},
{
"kind": "other",
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"source": "w"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Coordinate term: weasel out"
},
{
"ref": "2023 March 8, Gareth Dennis, “The Reshaping of things to come...”, in RAIL, number 978, page 44:",
"text": "He closes the foreword by acknowledging that his proposals would have far-reaching impacts on railway staff, communities and industry - and passes the buck onto government to ensure that these consequences are managed appropriately.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To transfer responsibility or blame from oneself onto another; to absolve oneself of concern for a given matter by claiming to lack authority or jurisdiction."
],
"id": "en-pass_the_buck-en-verb-2ECbs55R",
"links": [
[
"responsibility",
"responsibility"
],
[
"blame",
"blame"
],
[
"absolve",
"absolve"
],
[
"authority",
"authority"
],
[
"jurisdiction",
"jurisdiction"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, informal) To transfer responsibility or blame from oneself onto another; to absolve oneself of concern for a given matter by claiming to lack authority or jurisdiction."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "buck-passing"
},
{
"word": "buck-passer"
},
{
"word": "the buck stops here"
}
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"informal"
],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "passar la pilota"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "tuīxiè zérèn",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "推卸責任 /推卸责任"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "sende aben videre"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "zwartepieten"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "pakoilla vastuuta"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "renvoyer la balle"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "an",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "die Verantwortung weiterreichen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "auf",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "die Verantwortung schieben"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "auf",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "die Schuld abschieben"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "fare a scaricabarile"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"note": "蜥蜴の尻尾切りにする (tokage no shippo giri, literally “to play the lizard's tail cut”)",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"note": "盥回しにする (taraimawasi ni suru, literally “to play the turning of the tub”)",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself"
},
{
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "whakarare"
},
{
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "uapare"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "sválivatʹ otvétstvennostʹ",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "сва́ливать отве́тственность"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"note": "переводи́ть стре́лки impf (perevodítʹ strélki, literally “move the arrows”)",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"tags": [
"colloquial"
]
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "pasar la bola"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "đổ trách nhiệm"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "chuồi trách nhiệm"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "đổ tội"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "đổ lỗi"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "đổ quanh"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Buck passing"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-pass the buck.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/55/En-au-pass_the_buck.ogg/En-au-pass_the_buck.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/En-au-pass_the_buck.ogg"
}
],
"word": "pass the buck"
}
{
"etymology_text": "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.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "passes the buck",
"tags": [
"present",
"singular",
"third-person"
]
},
{
"form": "passing the buck",
"tags": [
"participle",
"present"
]
},
{
"form": "passed the buck",
"tags": [
"participle",
"past"
]
},
{
"form": "passed the buck",
"tags": [
"past"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "*"
},
"expansion": "pass the buck (third-person singular simple present passes the buck, present participle passing the buck, simple past and past participle passed the buck)",
"name": "en-verb"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "verb",
"related": [
{
"word": "buck-passing"
},
{
"word": "buck-passer"
},
{
"word": "the buck stops here"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English idioms",
"English informal terms",
"English lemmas",
"English multiword terms",
"English predicates",
"English terms with quotations",
"English verbs",
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"Mandarin terms with non-redundant manual transliterations",
"Pages with 1 entry",
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"Terms with Catalan translations",
"Terms with Danish translations",
"Terms with Dutch translations",
"Terms with Finnish translations",
"Terms with French translations",
"Terms with German translations",
"Terms with Italian translations",
"Terms with Japanese translations",
"Terms with Mandarin translations",
"Terms with Maori translations",
"Terms with Russian translations",
"Terms with Spanish translations",
"Terms with Vietnamese translations"
],
"examples": [
{
"text": "Coordinate term: weasel out"
},
{
"ref": "2023 March 8, Gareth Dennis, “The Reshaping of things to come...”, in RAIL, number 978, page 44:",
"text": "He closes the foreword by acknowledging that his proposals would have far-reaching impacts on railway staff, communities and industry - and passes the buck onto government to ensure that these consequences are managed appropriately.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"To transfer responsibility or blame from oneself onto another; to absolve oneself of concern for a given matter by claiming to lack authority or jurisdiction."
],
"links": [
[
"responsibility",
"responsibility"
],
[
"blame",
"blame"
],
[
"absolve",
"absolve"
],
[
"authority",
"authority"
],
[
"jurisdiction",
"jurisdiction"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(idiomatic, informal) To transfer responsibility or blame from oneself onto another; to absolve oneself of concern for a given matter by claiming to lack authority or jurisdiction."
],
"tags": [
"idiomatic",
"informal"
],
"wikipedia": [
"Buck passing"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"audio": "En-au-pass the buck.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/55/En-au-pass_the_buck.ogg/En-au-pass_the_buck.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/En-au-pass_the_buck.ogg"
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],
"translations": [
{
"code": "ca",
"lang": "Catalan",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "passar la pilota"
},
{
"code": "cmn",
"lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
"roman": "tuīxiè zérèn",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "推卸責任 /推卸责任"
},
{
"code": "da",
"lang": "Danish",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "sende aben videre"
},
{
"code": "nl",
"lang": "Dutch",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "zwartepieten"
},
{
"code": "fi",
"lang": "Finnish",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "pakoilla vastuuta"
},
{
"code": "fr",
"lang": "French",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "renvoyer la balle"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "an",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "die Verantwortung weiterreichen"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "auf",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "die Verantwortung schieben"
},
{
"code": "de",
"english": "auf",
"lang": "German",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "die Schuld abschieben"
},
{
"code": "it",
"lang": "Italian",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "fare a scaricabarile"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"note": "蜥蜴の尻尾切りにする (tokage no shippo giri, literally “to play the lizard's tail cut”)",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself"
},
{
"code": "ja",
"lang": "Japanese",
"note": "盥回しにする (taraimawasi ni suru, literally “to play the turning of the tub”)",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself"
},
{
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "whakarare"
},
{
"code": "mi",
"lang": "Maori",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "uapare"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"roman": "sválivatʹ otvétstvennostʹ",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"tags": [
"imperfective"
],
"word": "сва́ливать отве́тственность"
},
{
"code": "ru",
"lang": "Russian",
"note": "переводи́ть стре́лки impf (perevodítʹ strélki, literally “move the arrows”)",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"tags": [
"colloquial"
]
},
{
"code": "es",
"lang": "Spanish",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "pasar la bola"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "đổ trách nhiệm"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "chuồi trách nhiệm"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "đổ tội"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "đổ lỗi"
},
{
"code": "vi",
"lang": "Vietnamese",
"sense": "to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself",
"word": "đổ quanh"
}
],
"word": "pass the buck"
}
Download raw JSONL data for pass the buck meaning in English (6.3kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-15 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-01 using wiktextract (b941637 and 4230888). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.