pass off

British  

verb

1. to be or cause to be accepted or circulated in a false character or identity

   he passed the fake diamonds off as real

2. (intr) to come to a gradual end; disappear

   eventually the pain passed off

3. to emit (a substance) as a gas or vapour, or (of a substance) to be emitted in this way

4. (intr) to take place

   the meeting passed off without disturbance

5. (tr) to set aside or disregard

   I managed to pass off his insult

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pass off Idioms  

1. Misrepresent something or someone, as in They tried to pass off that piece of glass as a gemstone , or Bill passed her off as his sister . [Late 1700s] Also see palm off .

2. Be completed or carried out, take place, as in The meeting passed off without incident . [Late 1700s]

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Example Sentences

To save face with her fellow pensioners, Mrs. Palfrey passes off a struggling writer she meets on the street as her grandson, only to draw confusingly close to him.

From The Wall Street Journal

“We didn’t pass off the full tariff, and we mitigated wherever we could.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Members of the crafting community in Cornwall have said they are seeing a rise in cheap imported goods being passed off as handmade local produce.

From BBC

The match against Aston Villa, policed by more than 700 officers, passed off without serious disorder and only a handful of arrests.

From BBC

Proponents argue that eel species are effectively indistinguishable when young -- the point at which they are generally traded -- meaning the critically endangered Anguilla anguilla is often being passed off as other species.

From Barron's