{"id":2612,"date":"2022-03-10T23:20:58","date_gmt":"2022-03-10T23:20:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=2612"},"modified":"2022-03-10T23:20:58","modified_gmt":"2022-03-10T23:20:58","slug":"the-buck-stops-here-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/the-buck-stops-here-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"The Buck Stops Here - Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you looking for a way to tell someone that you are the final line of accountability? This post unpacks everything you need to know about the meaning and origin of the phrase, \u201c<em>the buck stops here.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The expression, \u201c<em>the buck stops here<\/em>,\u201d means that this is the point of final responsibility and accountability held by a person or organization. For instance, the buck stops with the SEC for anything relating to insider trading for the stock market.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When you tell someone that \u201c<em>the buck stops here<\/em>,\u201d you\u2019re telling them that you are accountable. You won\u2019t \u201c<em>pass the buck<\/em>\u201d to someone else to avoid taking the blame for something.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cSo, you thought you could get away with this forever? Well, I\u2019ve been through the accounting, and <em>the buck stops here.<\/em> It\u2019s all over for you now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis administration is accountable for the actions of our military forces. As the sitting president, I take full accountability. <em>The buck stops here<\/em>, and I\u2019m willing to take responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201c<em>The buck stops here<\/em>, young man. You tell me right now what you did to cause Suzie to cry like that?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is crazy. No one in the cabinet is willing to take responsibility for any of this. Well, <em>the buck stops here<\/em>, and I\u2019m going to call an emergency session to get to the bottom of this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2613\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/The-Buck-Stops-Here.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"157\" height=\"104\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-2614\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/The-Buck-Stops-Here2-279x300.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"167\" height=\"180\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The origin of the saying, \u201c<em>the buck stops here<\/em>,\u201d comes from US President Harry S. Truman. The president had a sign sitting on his desk which read, \u201c<em>The buck stops here<\/em>.\u201d The president explained that he was the final stop in the line of accountability for the US government.<\/p>\n<p>It was a way of avoiding \u201c<em>passing the buck<\/em>\u201d of responsibility. So, with this slogan, Truman held himself accountable for the governance of the United States. While Truman popularized the phrase, he does not claim its origin.<\/p>\n<p>The origin of the saying goes back further to Colonel A. B. Warfield in 1931. During WWII, Colonel Warfield was the \u201c<em>Lathrop Holding and Reconsignment depot<\/em>\u201d commandant at <em>Stockton, California<\/em>. He had the same sign on his desk, and it would appear in a photo of his office in October 1942 in <em>the Reno Evening Gazette.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"MP2002-401 Former President Truman Discusses &quot;The Buck Stops Here&quot;\" width=\"512\" height=\"384\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MDrzHjL4Goo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to The Buck Stops Here<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Be all end all.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to The Buck Stops Here<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Passing the buck.<\/li>\n<li>No one is accountable.<\/li>\n<li>No one wants to take responsibility.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>The buck stops here.<\/li>\n<li>The buck stops with me.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say The Buck Stops Here Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The saying does not have any actual reference to money. The word \u201c<em>buck<\/em>\u201d is a reference to the dollar. However, its original use and popularization by Harry Truman expanded the meaning of the saying to include \u201c<em>responsibility<\/em>\u201d or \u201c<em>accountability<\/em>\u201d as the meaning of the word buck. Today, more people use it concerning accountability and responsibility than as a financial reference.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase The Buck Stops Here<\/h2>\n<p>You can use \u201c<em>the buck stops here<\/em>\u201d when you\u2019re trying to tell someone that final accountability lies with you or them. The phrase suits professional and social use, and it\u2019s a common saying in modern language. For instance, if you\u2019re at the office, your manager could say that \u201c<em>the buck stops here<\/em>\u201d when they\u2019re referring to financial accountability, leadership responsibilities, and more.<\/p>\n<p>At home, \u201c<em>the buck stops here<\/em>\u201d would suit situations where you\u2019re telling someone that you want them to stop their behavior, or you\u2019re going to take action. It could also mean that you shoulder a burden on behalf of someone else\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Are you looking for a way to tell someone that you are the final line of accountability? This post unpacks everything you need to know about the meaning and origin of the phrase, \u201cthe buck stops here.\u201d Meaning The expression, \u201cthe buck stops here,\u201d means that this is the point of final responsibility and accountability [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2612"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2708,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2612\/revisions\/2708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}