Standard Lemma guide

buck-passing

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Blameshifting; the act of absolving oneself of responsibility or concern for a given matter by claiming to lack authority or jurisdiction.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: blame game

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English buck Proto-Indo-European *peth2-der. Proto-Italic *pattus Latin passus Proto-Italic *-āzi ▲ Latin -ereinflu. Latin -āre Vulgar Latin *passāre Old French passerbor. Middle English passen English pass English -ing English passing English buck-passing From buck + passing.

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • German: Schuldzuweisung — blame shifting
  • German: Schwarzer Peter — blame shifting
  • Italian: scaricabarile — blame shifting
  • Italian: rimpallo di responsabilità — blame shifting
  • Japanese: 蜥蜴の尻尾切り (tokage no shippo giri) — blame shifting
  • Japanese: 盥回し (tarai mawashi) — blame shifting
  • Japanese: 責任転嫁 (sekinintenka) — blame shifting
  • Norwegian Bokmål: pekelek — blame shifting
  • Polish: zwalanie odpowiedzialności na innych — blame shifting
  • Serbo-Croatian: prebacívānje odgovornosti — blame shifting
  • Serbo-Croatian: ȉgrānje Crnog Petra — blame shifting
  • Tagalog: sisihan — blame shifting
  • Tagalog: pagsisisihan — blame shifting