Pass it off

Question

Talking about a cook
She burnt the fish to a crisp and passed it off like she didn't see it.
Is pass it off correct?
Is it pass it off
Or is it pass it off to someone as in give the dish to someone ?
Thanks

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

Either use would be correct; "She passed it off to the waiter to be served."

"She passed it off to be served even though she knew it was burnt."

You could avoid any ambiguity by saying, "She avoided responsibility for burning the fish, and ignored the fact that it was ruined."

Your way is more concise.

From and English Teacher in Florida

Grammarfreak · Answer

AnonymousShe burnt the fish to a crisp and passed it off like she didn't see it.

This is how I approach this sentence. If she burnt the fish ( as a cook) ,the mental process is, she needs to cook another one. During the peak hours in the kitchen, she passed off the burnt fish as a normally cooked fish. This context has a deceptive element, and I would change " and " to "but".

This is an online definition:
pass something off (on someone) (as something) and pass something off

to get rid of something deceptively by giving or selling it to someone as something else. I passed the rhinestone off on John as a diamond. Don't try to pass that fake off on me! He couldn't pass off the stone on the clever jeweler.

Fivejedjon · Answer

AnonymousEither use would be correct; "She passed it off to the waiter to be served.""She passed it off to be served even though she knew it was burnt."

Neither of those is natural English. 'Pass something off' has the idea of deception, as grammarfreak noted.

Pass it off

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