throw (something) back to (one)
1. To toss or hurl something back in the direction of one who had originally thrown it. I asked the neighbor to throw the ball back to me, but he just ignored me and let it sit on his lawn instead. I signed the ledger and threw it back to my foreman.
2. To defer or refer some problem, issue, task, etc., to back to one who had originally or previously dealt with it. I don't have the authority to make this kind of decision, so I'll have to throw it back to my supervisor. I'll throw the error back to our IT team to see if they can resolve it.
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.
throw something back to someone
1. Lit. to return something to someone by throwing. Liz threw the ball back to Kelly. She threw back the ball.
2. Fig. to return a problem to someone. I can't do anything about this. I'll throw it back to Roger. Karen threw back the problem to Roger, who had caused it.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.