I know it means to dogde responsibility.  My question is how buck come to assume the meaning of responsibility.

As I searched AHDE, I found four entries of buck as a noun.  Which buck had been passed around until Trueman stopped it at his office desk?

Thank you in advance
Flam,

From Webster’s New World Dictionary:
buck (<? BUCKSKIN, used as a medium of exchange)
"[Historical] Poker a counter placed before a player as a reminder to deal next, etc. "
Perhaps this is where the term originated.
One would pass the buck to remind someone it was time to deal. However, if one wanted to miss one’s deal (thereby shirking responsibility), one would unobtrusively pass the buck to the next person.
Just a guess!

Alas, our congresspersons misunderstand the etymology. Each and every one of them wants more bucks passed their way.

"The ‘buck’ is any inanimate object, usually knife or pencil, which is thrown into a jack pot and temporarily taken by the winner of the pot. Whenever the deal reaches the holder of the ‘buck’, a new jack pot must be made." [J.W. Keller, Draw Poker, 1887]
The fig, sense of "shift responsibility" is first recorded 1912.

I does sound better than "the inanimate object stops here", or "pass the inanimate object".

Perry

To me, the idiom conjures up a picture of a bucket brigade, passing buckets along the line, leaving the responsibility to aim the contents at the fire to the next on-line person.

[quote author=Perry link=board=idiom;num=1089295194;start=0#3 date=07/09/04 at 00:17:00]

I does sound better than "the inanimate object stops here", or "pass the inanimate object".

You’re right, Perry. If they said "Pass the inanimate object.", with the amount of alcohol and nicotine involved in many poker games, they might use one of the players!