BUCK STOPS HERE, THE

the ultimate responsibility lies here; this is the place where decisions are made and not passed on to someone else. The word buck came from card games. The buck-short for either (A) a buckshot (a lead ball used for shooting deer), (B) a buckhorn knife (a knife with a handle made from the horn of a buck [a male deer]) or (C) a silver dollar (called a buck)-was passed from one card player to another as a visible reminder of who had the responsibility of being the dealer. A sign with this expression appeared on the desk of the US President Harry S. Truman (1884-1972), who was himself a card player.