Buck the system or trend

Origin of: Buck the system or trend

Buck the system or trend

This American expression means to go against or fail to imply with a system or trend. It dates from the early 20th century and derives from buck in the sense of jumping like a buck, from which we get “bucking bronco” which simply means a horse that jumps like a buck to unseat its rider. Thus bucking the system means to jump or go around it.