What is "to pass off"

Pass \Pass\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Passed; p. pr. & vb. n. Passing.] [F. passer, LL. passare, fr. L. passus step, or from pandere, passum, to spread out, lay open. See Pace.]

1. To go; to move; to proceed; to be moved or transferred from one point to another; to make a transit; -- usually with a following adverb or adverbal phrase defining the kind or manner of motion; as, to pass on, by, out, in, etc.; to pass swiftly, directly, smoothly, etc.; to pass to the rear, under the yoke, over the bridge, across the field, beyond the border, etc. ``But now pass over [i. e., pass on].''
   --Chaucer.

   On high behests his angels to and fro Passed frequent.
   --Milton.

   Sweet sounds rose slowly through their mouths, And from their bodies passed.
   --Coleridge.

2. To move or be transferred from one state or condition to another; to change possession, condition, or circumstances; to undergo transition; as, the business has passed into other hands.

   Others, dissatisfied with what they have, . . . pass from just to unjust.
   --Sir W. Temple.

3. To move beyond the range of the senses or of knowledge; to pass away; hence, to disappear; to vanish; to depart; specifically, to depart from life; to die.

   Disturb him not, let him pass paceably.
   --Shak.

   Beauty is a charm, but soon the charm will pass.
   --Dryden.

   The passing of the sweetest soul That ever looked with human eyes.
   --Tennyson.

4. To move or to come into being or under notice; to come and go in consciousness; hence, to take place; to occur; to happen; to come; to occur progressively or in succession; to be present transitorily.

   So death passed upon all men.
   --Rom. v. 12.

   Our own consciousness of what passes within our own mind.
   --I. Watts.

5. To go by or glide by, as time; to elapse; to be spent; as, their vacation passed pleasantly.

   Now the time is far passed.
   --Mark vi. 35

6. To go from one person to another; hence, to be given and taken freely; as, clipped coin will not pass; to obtain general acceptance; to be held or regarded; to circulate; to be current; -- followed by for before a word denoting value or estimation. ``Let him pass for a man.''
   --Shak.

   False eloquence passeth only where true is not understood.
   --Felton.

   This will not pass for a fault in him.
   --Atterbury.

7. To advance through all the steps or stages necessary to validity or effectiveness; to be carried through a body that has power to sanction or reject; to receive legislative sanction; to be enacted; as, the resolution passed; the bill passed both houses of Congress.

8. To go through any inspection or test successfully; to be approved or accepted; as, he attempted the examination, but did not expect to pass.

9. To be suffered to go on; to be tolerated; hence, to continue; to live along. ``The play may pass.''
   --Shak.

10. To go unheeded or neglected; to proceed without hindrance or opposition; as, we let this act pass.

11. To go beyond bounds; to surpass; to be in excess. [Obs.] ``This passes, Master Ford.''
    --Shak.

12. To take heed; to care. [Obs.]

    As for these silken-coated slaves, I pass not.
    --Shak.

13. To go through the intestines.
    --Arbuthnot.

14. (Law) To be conveyed or transferred by will, deed, or other instrument of conveyance; as, an estate passes by a certain clause in a deed.
    --Mozley & W.

15. (Fencing) To make a lunge or pass; to thrust.

16. (Card Playing) To decline to play in one's turn; in euchre, to decline to make the trump. She would not play, yet must not pass. --Prior. To bring to pass, To come to pass. See under Bring, and Come. To pass away, to disappear; to die; to vanish. ``The heavens shall pass away.'' --2 Pet. iii. 10. ``I thought to pass away before, but yet alive I am.'' --Tennyson. To pass by, to go near and beyond a certain person or place; as, he passed by as we stood there. To pass into, to change by a gradual transmission; to blend or unite with. To pass on, to proceed. To pass on or To pass upon.

    1. To happen to; to come upon; to affect. ``So death passed upon all men.''
       --Rom. v. 12. ``Provided no indirect act pass upon our prayers to define them.''
       --Jer. Taylor.

    2. To determine concerning; to give judgment or sentence upon. ``We may not pass upon his life.''
       --Shak.

       To pass off, to go away; to cease; to disappear; as, an agitation passes off.

       To pass over, to go from one side or end to the other; to cross, as a river, road, or bridge.

Pass \Pass\, v. t.

1. In simple, transitive senses; as:

   1. To go by, beyond, over, through, or the like; to proceed from one side to the other of; as, to pass a house, a stream, a boundary, etc.

   2. Hence: To go from one limit to the other of; to spend; to live through; to have experience of; to undergo; to suffer. ``To pass commodiously this life.''
      --Milton.

      She loved me for the dangers I had passed.
      --Shak.

   3. To go by without noticing; to omit attention to; to take no note of; to disregard.

      Please you that I may pass This doing.
      --Shak.

      I pass their warlike pomp, their proud array.
      --Dryden.

   4. To transcend; to surpass; to excel; to exceed.

      And strive to pass . . . Their native music by her skillful art.
      --Spenser.

      Whose tender power Passes the strength of storms in their most desolate hour.
      --Byron.

   5. To go successfully through, as an examination, trail, test, etc.; to obtain the formal sanction of, as a legislative body; as, he passed his examination; the bill passed the senate.

2. In causative senses: as:

   1. To cause to move or go; to send; to transfer from one person, place, or condition to another; to transmit; to deliver; to hand; to make over; as, the waiter passed bisquit and cheese; the torch was passed from hand to hand.

      I had only time to pass my eye over the medals.
      --Addison.

      Waller passed over five thousand horse and foot by Newbridge.
      --Clarendon.

   2. To cause to pass the lips; to utter; to pronounce; hence, to promise; to pledge; as, to pass sentence.
      --Shak.

      Father, thy word is passed.
      --Milton.

   3. To cause to advance by stages of progress; to carry on with success through an ordeal, examination, or action; specifically, to give legal or official sanction to; to ratify; to enact; to approve as valid and just; as, he passed the bill through the committee; the senate passed the law. (e) To put in circulation; to give currency to; as, to pass counterfeit money. ``Pass the happy news.''
      --Tennyson. (f) To cause to obtain entrance, admission, or conveyance; as, to pass a person into a theater, or over a railroad.

3. To emit from the bowels; to evacuate.

4. (Naut.) To take a turn with (a line, gasket, etc.), as around a sail in furling, and make secure.

5. (Fencing) To make, as a thrust, punto, etc. --Shak. Passed midshipman. See under Midshipman. To pass a dividend, to omit the declaration and payment of a dividend at the time when due. To pass away, to spend; to waste. ``Lest she pass away the flower of her age.'' --Ecclus. xlii. 9. To pass by.

   1. To disregard; to neglect.

   2. To excuse; to spare; to overlook.

      To pass off, to impose fraudulently; to palm off. ``Passed himself off as a bishop.''
      --Macaulay.

      To pass (something) on (some one) or To pass (something) upon (some one), to put upon as a trick or cheat; to palm off. ``She passed the child on her husband for a boy.''
      --Dryden.

      To pass over, to overlook; not to note or resent; as, to pass over an affront.