handball
In real, traceable use. Part of the curated seed collection; community review is coming.
Meaning · English
To pass responsibility for a task or problem to someone else, often to avoid dealing with an undesirable task or a tricky question.
Register: slang
Where it’s used:
Used
Australian English
Examples
Now six months into the role I have come to learn that the boss’s idea of empowering and delegating is actually handballing or passing off tasks that they actually should be performing themselves.
Usage example from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30)
Sources & notes
Adapted from English Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-30 via kaikki.org).
Common questions
What does “handball” mean?
To pass responsibility for a task or problem to someone else, often to avoid dealing with an undesirable task or a tricky question.
Is “handball” formal or informal?
handball is generally slang.