to pass the buck
Preserved but no longer current.
To evade responsibility. An American phrase, coming from the game of poker. The "buck," perhaps a piece of buck- shot or a bucktail, was passed from one player to another as a reminder that the recipient was to be the next dealer. The earliest recorded use of the phrase is by Mark Twain in 1872.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “to pass the buck” mean?
To evade responsibility. An American phrase, coming from the game of poker. The "buck," perhaps a piece of buck- shot or a bucktail, was passed from one player to another as a reminder that the recipient was to be the next dealer. The earliest recorded use of the phrase is by Mark Twain in 1872.
Is “to pass the buck” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.