pass the buck

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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.

22 source translations are retained for this English entry.

• Catalan: passar la pilota — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Chinese Mandarin: 推卸責任 /推卸责任 (tuīxiè zérèn) — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Chinese Mandarin: 推諉 /推诿 (tuīwěi) — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Danish: sende aben videre — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Dutch: zwartepieten — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Finnish: pakoilla vastuuta — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• French: renvoyer la balle — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• German: die Verantwortung weiterreichen — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• German: die Verantwortung schieben — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• German: die Schuld abschieben — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Italian: fare a scaricabarile — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Māori: whakarare — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Māori: uapare — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Polish: zwalać odpowiedzialność na innych — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Polish: zwalić odpowiedzialność na innych — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Russian: сва́ливать отве́тственность (sválivatʹ otvétstvennostʹ) — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Spanish: pasar la bola — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Vietnamese: đổ trách nhiệm — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Vietnamese: chuồi trách nhiệm — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Vietnamese: đổ tội — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Vietnamese: đổ lỗi — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself
• Vietnamese: đổ quanh — to transfer responsibility or blame from oneself