foist off

present singular third person foists off · participle present foisting off · participle past foisted off · past foisted off

1. transitiveTo fraudulently or disingenuously pass (goods, or ideas) on to.

   I used to think New Yorkers invented trends and foisted them off on a gullible nation but weren't themselves […]

   2018, Edmund White, The Unpunished Vice: A Life of Reading

   1 more example

   She was talking big, but the Haruhi of last year would've forced people to attend an explanatory lecture about the brigade, printed huge numbers of flyers, and foisted them off on absolutely everybody.

   2013, Nagaru Tanigawa, The Dissociation of Haruhi Suzumiya

2. To get rid of (something unwanted) by giving it to someone else.

   Countries with export surpluses foisted them off by bounties or placed them through unilateral agreements.

   2017, Broadus Mitchell, The Depression Decade, page 182

   1 more example

   When Zeytuna didn't want to do her chores, she foisted them off on Lidya, who'd spent years being her caregiver and took over without a whisper of complaint.

   2014, Mary Ostyn, Forever Mom: What to Expect When You're Adopting, page 92