Palm Off Meaning, Examples, Synonyms

The idiom “palm off” typically means to deceive or trick someone by passing off something of inferior quality as something genuine, valuable, or desirable. It involves attempting to convince someone to accept or believe something that is not as good as it is claimed to be.

The origin of the phrase can be traced back to the act of a magician concealing an object in the palm of their hand and then surreptitiously exchanging it with another object to deceive the audience. 

In a broader sense, “palm off” refers to any situation where someone tries to pass off something undesirable or inferior as something better.

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Usage with Examples

The idiom, “palm off” is an expression used to describe the act of deceitfully substituting or misrepresenting something of lesser value in order to deceive or defraud others.

For example, if someone tries to sell you a fake designer watch, claiming it to be genuine, they are trying to palm off the fake watch as the real thing. Similarly, if a company tries to market a low-quality product as a high-end item, they are attempting to palm it off as a superior product.

Mentioned below are some examples where you can use the idiom palm off:

• Many times shopkeepers plam off their fakes as genuine works of art.
• The restaurant was trying to palm off some inferior wine by putting a fancy label on it.
• The vegetable seller palmed off some bad tomatoes onto the old lady.

Also Read: Useful Idioms with Examples, Sentences, and Meanings

Synonyms and Similar Words to Palm Off

Mentioned below are some synonyms and related words for the idiom palm off:

• Get rid of
• Pass off
• Pull a fast one
• Fob off
• Insert fraudulently

Palm off Meaning Quiz

The fruit seller tried to palm off the mangoes as:

• There were too many of them
• They were going bad
• They were in perfect condition

Answer: They were going bad

This was all about the idiom palm off meaning, examples, and synonyms. Hope you understood the concept where it’s used. For more such blogs, follow Leverage Edu.