buck

bang for your buck: seebang.

big bucks a lot of money. informal

the buck stops here (or with someone) the responsibility for something cannot or should not be passed to someone else. informal

☞ Famously, the buck stops here was the wording of a sign on the desk of US President Harry S. Truman. Compare with pass the buck below.

buck your ideas up make more effort; become more energetic and hardworking. informal

☞ Buck here refers to the lively action of a horse jumping with all its feet together and its back arched. Buck up in its modern senses of 'cheer up' and 'hurry up' is first found in late 19th-century school slang.

buck the trend run counter to the general direction of affairs.

2013Business Insider Markets in Asia and the Pacific closed mostly lower. Japan's Nikkei was off 0.41%. Korea's Kospi was down 0.04%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng bucked the trend, finishing 0.39% higher.

make a fast buck earn money easily and quickly. informal

pass the buck shift the responsibility for something to someone else. informal

☞ In the 19th century a buck was an object placed as a reminder in front of the person whose turn it was to deal in the game of poker. The object used was often a buckhorn knife: hence buck.

2013New Statesman The time has come to lay these problems at fashion's door, because they must take their fair share of responsibility. Whoever inevitably passes the buck about what goes on outside the Stockholm Centre for Eating Disorders will demonstrate the industry's unwillingness to ever involve themselves in anything beyond how a gypsy skirt hangs.