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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

the buck stops here en · X

Pronunciation

Etymology

Popularized by US President Harry Truman. The phrase is based on the metaphorical expression passing the buck, derived from poker gameplay, that came to mean "passing blame", or absolving oneself of responsibility or concern by denying authority or jurisdiction over a given matter.

Meanings

  1. (idiomatic) A statement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities.
    • Well, nobody else can make a decision but me because I was the President and the final decision comes to the President, you know. I used to have a sign on my desk that said, "The Buck Stops Here." The buck stops at the president's desk when he's president of the United States, and he either makes the decisions or he lets them go by default, and you can't afford to do that when you're president. 1965, Harry S. Truman, 0:20 from the start, in MP2002-401 Former President Truman Discusses "The Buck Stops Here", Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum, National Archives Identifier: 595162:
    • 1994 January 25, William J. Clinton, State of the Union Address, 2004 Gutenberg eBook, If you will stick with this plan, we will post three consecutive years of declining deficits for the first time since Harry Truman lived in the White House. And once again, the buck stops here.

Relateds

pass the buck

Translations (6)

ru фишка дальше не идёт (statement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities) · de die Verantwortung liegt hier bei mir und nirgendwo anders (statement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities) · de die Verantwortung liegt hier bei uns und nirgendwo anders (statement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities) · pl biorę to na siebie (statement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities) · fr la responsabilité commence ici (statement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities) · fr c'est ici que ça s'arrête (statement that no excuses will be made, that the speaker is going to take direct responsibility for matters, rather than pass the responsibility to higher authorities)