buck-passing
Refusing personal accountability
Buck-passing is shifting blame or responsibility to someone else rather than accepting it yourself.
The buck in question comes from poker, where a marker (originally a buckhorn knife) indicated whose turn it was to deal.
To pass the buck was to hand off that duty.
President Truman's desk sign "The buck stops here" declared he wouldn't deflect responsibility further.
The report was delayed by weeks of buck-passing between departments.
Unfairly assigning fault to innocents
- finger-pointingAssigning blame openly
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
- accusationClaim someone did wrong
- faultfindingSeeking out imperfections
incrimination · reproach · denunciation · deflection · liability · recrimination · hot potato · fall guy
Moving aside to avoid
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- circumventionAct of going around
- duckingBending to avoid impact
deflecting · equivocation · noncommittal · weaseling · stonewalling · runaround · handball · shuffling off
Failure to provide care
- irresponsibilityFailure to meet obligations
- derelictionAbandonment of duty
- remissnessCulpable lack of care
- disregardWillful lack of attention
nonperformance · abdication · goldbricking · slacking · malingering · copping out · dropping the ball · abandonment
Bureaucratic obstacles to action
- runaroundEvasive, delaying response
- referralDirecting someone elsewhere
- chain of commandFormal authority hierarchy
- hierarchyRanked authority structure
officialdom · paperwork · committees · kicking upstairs · bystander effect
State of being answerable
- answerabilityObligation to explain oneself
- dutyRequired moral task
- obligationRequired task or commitment
- ownershipLegal right of possession
stewardship · oversight · taking charge · transparency · integrity
scapegoating
Unfairly assigning fault to innocents
- finger-pointingAssigning blame openly
- culpabilityDeserving blame for wrongdoing
- accusationClaim someone did wrong
faultfinding · incrimination · reproach · denunciation · deflection · liability · recrimination · hot potato · fall guy · patsy
sidestepping
Moving aside to avoid
- avoidanceDeliberate keeping away
- dodgingAvoiding by moving aside
- circumventionAct of going around
ducking · deflecting · equivocation · noncommittal · weaseling · stonewalling · runaround · handball · shuffling off · deniability
neglect
Failure to provide care
- irresponsibilityFailure to meet obligations
- derelictionAbandonment of duty
- remissnessCulpable lack of care
disregard · nonperformance · abdication · goldbricking · slacking · malingering · copping out · dropping the ball · abandonment · defaulting
red tape
Bureaucratic obstacles to action
- runaroundEvasive, delaying response
- referralDirecting someone elsewhere
- chain of commandFormal authority hierarchy
hierarchy · officialdom · paperwork · committees · kicking upstairs · bystander effect
responsibility
State of being answerable
- answerabilityObligation to explain oneself
- dutyRequired moral task
- obligationRequired task or commitment
ownership · stewardship · oversight · taking charge · transparency · integrity
- foreign policydiplomacy, diplomatic negotiations, sanctions, containment, deterrence
- runaroundsexcuses, stalling, avoidance, deflection, misdirection
- evasionevasion, avoiding, avoids, evade, dodging
- indecisionindecision, indecisiveness, conflicted, hesitation, indecisive
- coping mechanismsrepression, denial, projection, sublimation, rationalization
buck-passingtaking responsibility
accountability · owning up · stepping up · personal responsibility · ownership
buck-passingthe buck stops here
Accepting final responsibility here
taking charge · stepping up · initiative · decisiveness · taking command
buck-passingthe buck stops here
Accepting final responsibility here
leadership · moral courage · integrity · decisiveness · standing tall
buck, pass, bucks, bucked, bucking, passes, passed, passing, passer