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Can someone explain to me the meaning of "put the honest on somebody"?
Examples:

  • Now he wants to put the honest on Michael to prove Sonny guilt when he had the proof and he threw it away.
  • Regarding our teachers, you need to put the honest on them.
  • Now the honest is on you to answer some of the question fellow forumers asked.
  • I’d recommend you put the honest on the supplier.
  • You see claimants are making the mistake of allowing DWP to put the honest on them when really claimants should be saying “are you suggesting I'm lying, committing the criminal act of fraud and if so can I have that in writing please”.

Thanks!

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    Welcome to ELL, fajar. Have you seen these sentences written down, or have you just heard them? Or have you made them up? It seems quite likely that you have mis-heard the word onus as honest. dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/onus. If that's not the case, please provide more details.
    – JavaLatte
    Feb 27, 2017 at 2:51
  • I Googled it and found one example in print (grough.co.uk/magazine/2008/01/21/…). It looked like the author made a mistake or typo. It clearly should have been "onus" in that example.
    – fixer1234
    Feb 27, 2017 at 2:57
  • Aha. That clears up everything. Yes, I (mis-)heard the phrase. Thanks!
    – fajar
    Feb 27, 2017 at 2:59
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it's based on a mis-hearing of a word.
    – JavaLatte
    Feb 27, 2017 at 3:12
  • 4
    @JavaLatte misheard phrases(eggcorn, malaprop.. etc) are errors that really need attention, because they aren't only made by non-native speakers, but the native speakers themselves.
    – Mohd Zulkanien Sarbini
    Feb 27, 2017 at 3:29

1 Answer 1

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As far as I know, put the honest on someone doesn't mean anything. I believe it is an eggcorn. I think the correct phrase should be put the onus on someone. From the Cambridge Dictionary,

onus
the responsibility or duty to do something:
The onus is on the administration to come up with a balanced budget.

Here are some examples of the correct usage from Dictionary.com (emphasis mine):

Examples from the Web for onus
Contemporary Examples

  1. In fact, he would benefit by putting the onus of political pressure back on Bibi.
  2. Trying to put the onus onto someone else for your own decisions is really cowardly and kind of dishonest.
  3. FDA spokesperson Siobhan DeLancey says the onus is on companies to provide a safe product.

Some of the examples provided in the OP can be found here, where the eggcorn matter is discussed:

Users of this substitution implicitly construe truthfulness (‘honest’) as a burden (‘onus’). Examples-

Again the honest is on the Hampton’s to prove their assertion, while the opposite may be taken by the Sen.’s spouse …
www.lasvegassun.com/.../state-gop-ensig … defenders/

Now the honest is on you to answer some of the question fellow forumers asked.
forum.lowyat.net/topic/1404245

Also the honest is on you to watch what you eat and drink, but we will give you the tools and advices you need to conquer that.
www.iamfitness.ca/pdf/Tips_for_Success.pdf

Now he wants to put the honest on Michael to prove Sonny guilt when he had the proof and he threw it away.
boards.soapcentral.com/showthread.php?p=11841100

I’d recommend you put the honest on the supplier. You should be able to get a half decent kit in the $800 – $1500 CDN range …
www.cctvforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=678&view=next

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    Max, that clears up everything. I (mis-)heard that phrase. Now I learned a new word today: "onus". Thanks a lot!
    – fajar
    Feb 27, 2017 at 3:02

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