Passing the cake 

Getting shafted out of something that you wanted, usually at work, because of some rule of "politeness" or "team spirit". From the movie "Office Space", when the ratio of people to cake was too big and Milton was told to keep passing it, so eventually everybody gets a piece except for him.

"I'm taking this office before anybody else does. I'm tired of always passing the cake"

Passing the cake by buggieboy December 19, 2008