tek3 pei4 kau4踢皮球
Jyutpingtek3 pei4 kau4
Yaletek pèih kàuh
Definition
To pass the buck or kick a responsibility back and forth like a ball.
colloquialworkcommunication
How it's used
This idiom is used exclusively to describe bureaucratic or interpersonal avoidance of responsibility. It paints a vivid picture of a task being tossed between parties like a ball in a game, where no one wants to hold onto it. It is most commonly heard in professional or administrative settings when someone is frustrated by a lack of accountability.
Examples
Their department is always passing the buck, so nobody is dealing with the matter.
Related words
Common phrases
passing the buck to each other
Common mistake
Do not use this to describe actual sports or literal ball games. It is strictly a metaphorical expression for avoiding duty or shifting blame.
Grammar color guide
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Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
