pass the buck
pass the buck — 慣用語
1. to avoid dealing with a problem or mistake yourself by getting someone else to t
推卸責任
把責任推給別人
to avoid dealing with a problem or mistake yourself by getting someone else to take the blame or handle it instead
When the audit revealed the missing funds, Diego passed the buck to the accounting team.
審計發現資金短少時，Diego 把責任推給了會計部門。
pass + the buck + to + [person/group]
Instead of solving the problem, Anika's boss passed the buck to the customer service team.
Anika 的老闆沒有自己解決問題，而是把責任推給了客服團隊。
Kofi got tired of his team passing the buck when the client asked tough questions.
Kofi 厭倦了組員們一到客戶問棘手問題時就推卸責任。
Stop passing the buck — you made the decision, so you should face the consequences.
別再推卸責任了——決定是你做的，你應該承擔後果。
- shift the blame
more literal and slightly more formal; focuses on blame rather than responsibility
- shirk responsibility
more formal; implies avoiding a duty rather than passing it to someone specific
- avoid accountability
formal register; used in business and legal contexts
- take responsibility
direct opposite; means accepting rather than avoiding blame or duty
- face the music
idiom of similar register; means accepting the consequences of one's actions
- own up
informal; means admitting one's mistake
文法句型
pass the buck to [someone]
pass the buck
用法筆記
Always used idiomatically as a fixed phrase. The recipient of the responsibility is introduced by the preposition 'to'. Common in workplace, political, and organisational contexts. Often used to criticise someone for avoiding accountability.