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Pass the buck

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

To shift responsibility or blame to someone else, from poker’s “buck” marker denoting dealer.

Detailed Definition
Presidentially popularized by Truman’s “The buck stops here.” In poetry, it indicts evasion, bureaucratic cowardice, or systemic diffusion of accountability. Political satires (Auden) and war poems show lives lost to buck-passing. The gaming metaphor implies moral hazard—risk borne by others. Poets use it to explore leadership failure or collective guilt, where no one owns consequence. Its sharp idiom cuts through abstraction, making responsibility tangible in works demanding ethical clarity amid institutional obfuscation.
Example
Example in poetry:
Bureaucratic satire: “Manager passes buck to intern—blame trickles down”; Climate denial: “Corporations pass buck to consumers—‘you drive cars, not us’”; Family dynamic: “Parents pass buck on discipline—‘ask your father’ echoes empty”; Political evasion: “Senator passes buck to committee—action deferred, again”.
Additional Notes
From poker’s “buck” marker denoting dealer. In poetry, it indicts evasion, bureaucratic cowardice, or systemic diffusion of accountability. Political satires (Auden) and war poems show lives lost to buck-passing. The gaming metaphor implies moral hazard—risk borne by others. Educators can use it to explore leadership failure or collective guilt, where no one owns consequence. Its sharp idiom cuts through abstraction, making responsibility tangible in works demanding ethical clarity amid institutional obfuscation and the dangers of deferred accountability.
Also Known As
Shift responsibility Blame someone else
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