Past tense of fob; deceived or tricked someone, or palmed off something inferior as if it were genuine.
From 'fob' (possibly from German 'foppen' meaning to trick), a verb meaning to pass off something false or inferior as genuine, often used with 'off' as in 'fobbed off.'
The phrase 'fobbed off' might come from the slight-of-hand trick of using a fob (a pocket watch chain ornament) to distract while picking a pocket—a criminal origin story for a word now meaning any form of deception or substitution.
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.