Some claim that it derives from an
American custom of indicating who the card dealer is by stabbing a buckhorn
knife into the table in front of him. What cliché is
it?
Etymology, Etymology, and more Etymology
as well as grammar, usage, euphemism, slang, jargon, semantics, linguistics, neologism, idiom, cant, and argot.
The critically-acclaimed board game
MooT
consists of tough questions about the nuances of the English language.
Answer:
pass the buck
Purportedly, the marker was called a
buck (from buckhorn
knife ) and it marked the current dealer. When the buck is passed to
the next player, the next player deals.
However, this is a disputed etymology. According to
the Online Etymology Dictionary, "The
buck is any inanimate object, usually knife or
pencil, which is thrown into a jack pot and temporarily taken by the winner of
the pot. Whenever the deal reaches the holder of the buck, a new jack pot must be made." (Source:
Draw Poker by J.W. Keller (1877))
Feedback
Presumably this (either of these) is also the source of the Truman's
trademark phrase, "The buck stops here."
[Mootguy: The first recorded instance of "buck" in the sense
of "responsibility" is from 1912. Thus, when Truman says "The buck
stops here" he's saying that "the responsibility stops
here."]
jgramarye at hotmail.com
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Yahoo, I got one!! thank you
[Mootguy: Excellent. Note that I try to make these mailing
list questions more difficult because I assume people will use the Internet to
find the answer. The board-game questions are a bit
easier.]
ande1379 at yahoo.com
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