Pass The Buck... And The Responsibility

Plaque from President Truman's desk

Oftentimes when one person is tasked with a job or responsibility and doesn’t wish to have this responsibility they would pass it on to someone else. This action of “passing the buck” originates back to the early days of the settlement of the American West and the game of poker. Typically, everyone playing poker at a table will have a turn to deal the cards. Your turn was represented by an object in front on you on the table (at this point in history

buckhorn handled knives were commonly used). If it came to your turn to deal and you didn’t wish to deal you would “pass the buck” to the next player and effectively shift the responsibility to another.

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