foist Definition
foist (fo̵ist)
transitive verb
- to put in slyly or surreptitiously, as a clause into a contract
- to get (a thing) accepted, sold, etc. by fraud, deception, etc.; palm off: with on or upon
Etymology: prob. < dial. Du vuisten, to hold in the hand; hence, in dicing, to hide or palm in the hand < vuist, a fist, akin to fist
foist Usage Examples
Object
- policy: He blamed them for foisting unpopular policies on the party which had been attacked by our opponents in the election.
- menu: The Washington Consensus was, I think, a shallow and self-serving policy menu opportunistically foisted upon poor countries by the rich.
- fraud: Absolute fraud foisted on the people of the North East.
- food: It is ridiculous for Europeans to accuse the WTO of trying to foist dangerous food on them.
- technology: Mr Austin should support BICC in looking forward, not in foisting old technology unnecessarily on Cleveland and Yorkshire.
Preposition: on
- public: People seem to like the stuff they foist on an unsuspecting public.
- country: This is fundamentally no different from the tired old trade formula that has been foisted on these countries for generations.
- community: He referred to the Castlederg area and spoke of the out-of-hours service which was foisted on the local community without any prior consultation.
- people: The Gospel should never be foisted on people by means of a ' catch ' or a gimmick.
- child: The media violence overkill is an ingredient in a global marketing formula imposed on media professionals and foisted on the children of the world.
Preposition: upon
- country: The Washington Consensus was, I think, a shallow and self-serving policy menu opportunistically foisted upon poor countries by the rich.
- world: RAFI is not fundamentally opposed to biotechnology, but we have profound concerns about the way it is being foisted upon the world.
Modifying Another Word
- ever: This is the single most unpopular, unwanted nanny state legislation ever foisted upon the Scottish nation.
- not: In the words of Cass Mann: " We are not foisting ideas on the unsuspecting public.
- then: The United States, single-handedly, started this war in the first place, then foisted it on the rest of the world.
- opportunistically: The Washington Consensus was, I think, a shallow and self-serving policy menu opportunistically foisted upon poor countries by the rich.
- often: The role of IT co-ordinator is shunned by staff with a Luddite tendency and often foisted onto an unwilling member.
- never: The film just lets us sit back and smile, never foisting any messages on us and avoiding the usual annoying sentimentality.
Followed by an intransitive particle
off: Twenty eight per cent of the UKâs pets are foisted off onto substitute carers in the form of family and friends.

