Sawbuck

Sawbuck
Sawbuck Saw"buck`, n. 1. A sawhorse. [1913 Webster]

2. [Colloq., from the Roman X for ten, like the support of a sawbuck.] a ten-dollar bill; also,

{double sawbuck}, a twenty-dollar bill. [PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • sawbuck — ten dollar bill, Amer.Eng. slang, 1850, from resemblance of X (Roman numeral 10) to the ends of a sawhorse. Sawbuck in the sense of sawhorse only is attested from 1862 but presumably is older (see SAW (Cf. saw) (n.2)) …   Etymology dictionary

  • sawbuck — ☆ sawbuck [sô′buk΄ ] n. [Du zaagbok < zaag, SAW1 + bok, BUCK1] 1. a sawhorse, esp. one with the legs projecting above the crossbar 2. [from the resemblance of the crossed legs of a sawbuck to an X (the Roman numeral for 10)] Slang a ten dollar …   English World dictionary

  • Sawbuck — A sawbuck is a device for holding rough wood so that it may be sawn into pieces of length usable in a stove or fireplace. Easily made in the field from rough material, it consists of two X forms, one at each end, which are stabilized by a central …   Wikipedia

  • sawbuck — 1) A ten dollar bill. [A double sawbuck is a twenty. Read Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler to see fin, sawbuck, and double sawbuck in action.] The cost to get into the club has gone up to a sawbuck now. 2) Ten dollar bill. Zak owes me a… …   Dictionary of american slang

  • sawbuck — 1) A ten dollar bill. [A double sawbuck is a twenty. Read Dashiell Hammett or Raymond Chandler to see fin, sawbuck, and double sawbuck in action.] The cost to get into the club has gone up to a sawbuck now. 2) Ten dollar bill. Zak owes me a… …   Dictionary of american slang

  • Sawbuck — A slang term for a U.S. $10 bill. Sawbuck refers to a rack used for holding wood for sawing that has a shape similar to the letter X. The U.S. Treasury initially used Roman numerals on its banknotes, and ten is represented by X in Latin. This… …   Investment dictionary

  • sawbuck — n. a ten dollar bill. (From the time when the 10 was indicated by the Roman numeral X, which looks like the crosspiece that supports wood that is being sawed.) □ It cost me a sawbuck to have my car pulled out of the mud. □ Can I borrow a sawbuck… …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • sawbuck — Sawhorse Saw horse , n. A kind of rack, shaped like a double St. Andrew s cross, on which sticks of wood are laid for sawing by hand; called also {buck}, and {sawbuck}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • sawbuck — saw|buck [ˈso:bʌk US ˈso: ] n AmE old fashioned informal [Date: 1800 1900; Origin: sawbuck sawhorse (19 20 centuries), from Dutch zaagbok; probably because the end of some types of sawhorse looks like a Roman number X (= 10)] a piece of paper… …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • sawbuck — n 10 dollar bill. Give me a sawbuck til Friday, Lionel, I m flat broke. 1850s …   Historical dictionary of American slang

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