pawn off

[sagehen]

 I suppose this "pawn" is more closely related to the pawnshop than to the
chessboard.  If so,does the fooling/cheating  aspect of " pawning off" say
anything about pawnshop transactions?  If so, who is cheating whom?
[I should admit that learning of the legitimacy of this expression is
rather discomforting, since I have always insisted that it was an
error,along with "honing" for homing.]
AM

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