palm off

verb

1. to offer, sell, or spend fraudulently

   to palm off a counterfeit coin

2. to divert in order to be rid of

   I palmed the unwelcome visitor off on John

Idioms and Phrases

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.

Example Sentences

"They pulled it off, because they managed to flog the goods and palm off a $4m ring in Antwerp, which isn't that easy," he added.

From BBC

His parents divorced, and he was palmed off on various relatives until settling with his maternal grandmother in Danville, Illinois.

From BBC

What a lot of the players are asking is why exactly they as world champions are being palmed off with an assistant coach rather than the kind of world-class coach that their performances merit.

From BBC

It’s offensive to try to paint them as self-interested NIMBYs who just want to palm off the problem on someone else.

From Seattle Times

Protected from the news media after her brother dies, Saskia is palmed off on family friends — Jane and Philip and their son, Xavier.

From New York Times