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pawn

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palm someone or something off (on someone) (as someone or something)

 and pass someone or something off (on someone) (as someone or something); pawn someone or something off (on someone) (as someone or something)

Fig. to give someone or something to someone as a gift that appears to be someone or something desirable. (As if the gift had been concealed in one's palm until it was gotten rid of.) Are you trying to palm that annoying client off on me as a hot prospect? Don't palm off that pest on me. Please don't pass that problem off on me as a challenge. Don't pass it off on me! Don't pawn it off on me as something of value.

See also: off, palm

pawn someone or something off

(on someone) (as someone or something) Go to palm someone or something off (on someone) (as someone or something).

See also: off, pawn

palm off something

also palm something off

to trick or persuade someone to take something They palmed off cheap wine at high prices by putting it in fancy bottles. She produced fake stamps and palmed them off as genuine.

Related vocabulary: fob something off on somebody

See also: off, palm

palm off

Pass off by deception, substitute with intent to deceive, as in The salesman tried to palm off a zircon as a diamond, or The producer tried to palm her off as a star from the Metropolitan Opera. This expression alludes to concealing something in the palm of one's hand. It replaced the earlier palm on in the early 1800s.

See also: off, palm

pawn off

Dispose of by deception, as in They tried to pawn off a rebuilt computer as new. This expression may have originated as a corruption of palm off, although it was also put as pawn upon in the 1700s, when it originated.

See also: off, pawn

palm off

v.

To get rid of or dispose of something by fraud or deception; fob off: The crooked merchant palmed off a lot of fake diamonds before being caught. Someone tried to palm some old coins off on me yesterday, saying they were rare and valuable.

See also: off, palm

pawn off

v.

To get rid of or dispose of something deceptively by misrepresenting its true value: The clerk tried to pawn off the fake gemstone as a diamond. They almost pawned the counterfeit bills off on unsuspecting tourists.

See also: off, pawn