buck stops here
Ultimate decision maker
The buck stops here means ultimate responsibility rests with the person speaking—they won't pass blame or defer decisions to someone else.
The phrase gained currency from a sign on President Harry Truman's desk.
In poker, a marker called the buck indicated whose turn it was to deal; passing the buck meant shifting that duty to someone else.
When it comes to this department's performance, the buck stops here.
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- accountabilityObligation for one's actions
- no excusesRefusing to justify failure
- leadershipAbility to direct others
- TrumanCold War-era president
Harry Truman · president · White House · decision · final say · authority · blame · ownership · own it · desk · leader · final · ultimate · charge · duty · commander · command decision · executive
- idiomstime flies, hit the sack, seize the day, ring a bell, break a leg
- Political Quotesall men are created equal, Gettysburg Address, Declaration of Independence, Emancipation Proclamation, nothing to fear
- Truman EraTruman, Truman Doctrine, Fair Deal, Dewey, Berlin Airlift
- powerauthority, electric power, nuclear power, solar power, wind power
- accountabilityaccountability, responsibility, accountable, take responsibility, answerability
- apologiessorry, forgive me, my mistake, mea culpa, sincere apology
buck stops herepassing the buck
Transferring responsibility to others
buck-passing · finger-pointing · plausible deniability · pass the buck · blame-shifting
buck stops herescapegoating
Unfairly assigning fault to innocents
blame-shifting · pointing fingers · making excuses · not my fault
buck, bucks, bucked, bucking, stop, stops, stopped, stopping, stopper