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It has been suggested that the word sawbuck came to mean a 10-dollar bill because the X-shaped ends of a sawbuck look like the Roman numeral for 10. This explanation is problematic because earliest known use of sawbuck in print, from 1850, refers to a 10-dollar bill, not a sawhorse. But we won't rule out the possibility that the sawhorse sense was used in speech before 1850 and just didn't appear in print until later. If you are wondering about buck, we can tell you that it first appeared in print as a word for dollar in 1856 - six years after the first recorded use of sawbuck for a 10-dollar bill.
Examples of sawbuck in a Sentence
Jack Handey, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024
Say, there's an idea: The mall is free, but the greeter will shake your hand for a sawbuck.
—Star Tribune, 26 Feb. 2021
And just like that, two sawbucks bought you entry into the annals of Michigan golf history.
—Carlos Monarrez, Detroit Free Press, 25 June 2019
The sawbuck, which should get its own shot of color and hit streets next spring.
—Wired Staff, WIRED, 28 Sep. 2004
Dictionary Entries Near sawbuck
Cite this Entry
“Sawbuck.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sawbuck. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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