I. fob 1 /fɒb $ fɑːb/ BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle fobbed , present participle fobbing ) informal
[ Date: 1500-1600 ; Origin: fob 'to deceive' (16-19 centuries) ]
fob somebody ↔ off phrasal verb
1 . to tell someone something that is not true in order to stop them from complaining
fob somebody ↔ off with
She fobbed him off with a promise to pay him the money next week.
2 . to give someone something that is not very good instead of the thing they really want
fob somebody ↔ off with
They tried to fob me off with a cheap camera.
II. fob 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1600-1700 ; Origin: Perhaps from German fuppe 'pocket' ]
a small object that is fixed to a key ring as a decoration