Definition of the word palm off

The expression "palm off" originated from the economy of trading palm oil in the 19th century. Palm oil, a thick, red or orange-colored vegetable oil, was initially used by indigenous communities in West Africa for medicinal and culinary purposes. It soon gained popularity in Europe as a margarine substitute due to its multifunctional properties, such as its ability to confer a pleasant orange color to foods and soaps. Traders who brought palm oil from the African continent to Europe often used dubious methods to deceive their customers about the oil's actual quality. They would palm off poor-quality oil as the genuine article by exaggerating its content or adding traces of more expensive substances. This practice aimed to cheat the customers into believing they were receiving a higher-quality product than what they were actually getting. The expression "palm off" hence came into being to describe the act of duping someone by selling a lower-grade product as a higher-grade one. The term circulated in the shipping industry as a slang phrase, eventually spreading to other areas of life where people encountered deceptive practices, such as politics, finance, and commerce.