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Difficulty: MediumIdioms and Idiomatic Expressions

Fill in the blank in the sentence below with the appropriate idiomatic expression.

Answer:Rather than accepting responsibility for the administrative failure, the director attempted to 【pass the buck】 to his subordinates.

Answer

pass the buck
The idiom 'pass the buck' means to evade responsibility by passing blame or an unwanted task to someone else. In the sentence, the director avoids accountability for a failure by shifting blame to subordinates, making 'pass the buck' the only contextually accurate idiomatic expression.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the sentence context.
The context describes an executive who avoids taking responsibility for an administrative failure by trying to transfer the blame onto subordinate employees.
Understanding the figurative intent requires identifying the action of shifting blame or duty.
2
Identify the idiomatic expression that corresponds to shifting blame.
The idiomatic phrase 'pass the buck' means to shift responsibility or blame to another person.
This idiom perfectly fits the context of avoiding accountability by blaming subordinates.

Key Concept

Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions - Shifting Responsibility ('pass the buck')
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions

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