The buck stops here

The buck stops here

"The buck stops here" is a phrase that was popularized by U.S. President Harry S. Truman, who kept a sign with that phrase on his desk in the Oval Office. (Footage from Jimmy Carter's "malaise speech" shows the sign still on the desk during Carter's administration.) The phrase refers to "passing the buck," "i.e.", handing responsibility to someone else, and the fact that the president has to make the decisions and accept the ultimate responsibility for those decisions.

The buck, a marker or counter, was used to indicate the person whose turn it was to deal in the game of poker. If the player did not wish to deal he could pass the responsibility by passing the "buck", as the counter came to be called, to the next player.

ee also

*Buck passing
*Button (poker)
*Scapegoat

References

* [http://www.trumanlibrary.org/buckstop.htm "The Buck Stops Here" Desk Sign on trumanlibrary.org]
*Mitford M. Mathews, ed., "A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles" (Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1951), I, pages 198-99.


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  • the buck stops here — ► the buck stops here informal the responsibility for something cannot be avoided. Main Entry: ↑buck …   English terms dictionary

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  • the buck stops here — I am responsible for what we do no one else; pass the buck    The buck stops here, the new manager said to us. We don t blame others for our problems …   English idioms

  • (the) buck stops here. — something that you say in order to tell someone that you will take responsibility for a situation or problem. We carry out all the safety tests in this department, so the buck stops here …   New idioms dictionary

  • The Buck Stops Here (King of the Hill) — Infobox Television episode Title = The Buck Stops Here Series = King of the Hill Caption = Season = 5 Episode = 2 Airdate = November 5, 2000 Production = 5ABE01 Writer = Director = Guests = Brad Renfro Episode list = List of King of the Hill… …   Wikipedia

  • the buck stops here — Meaning Responsibility is not passed on beyond this point. Origin U.S. president Harry Truman had a sign with this inscription on his desk. This was meant to indicate that he didn t pass the buck to anyone else but accepted responsibility for the …   Meaning and origin of phrases

  • The buck stops here — catch phrase noting the acceptance of final responsibility (originally US slang (mid 19th C.), from buck an object used in poker to remind the winner of some privilege or duty at the next deal, from buckhorn knife , once often used for this… …   Dictionary of Australian slang

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