sawbuck1

[saw-buhk] /ˈsɔˌbʌk/
noun
1.
a sawhorse.
Origin
1860-65, Americanism; compare Dutch zaagbok

sawbuck2

[saw-buhk] /ˈsɔˌbʌk/
noun, Slang.
1.
a ten-dollar bill.
Origin
1840-50, Americanism; so called from the resemblance of the Roman numeral X to the crossbars of a sawbuck1
British Dictionary definitions for sawbuck

sawbuck

/ˈsɔːˌbʌk/
noun
1.
(US & Canadian) a sawhorse, esp one having an X-shaped supporting structure
2.
(mainly US & Canadian, slang) a ten-dollar bill
Word Origin
C19: (in the sense: sawhorse) translated from Dutch zaagbok; (in the sense: ten-dollar bill) from the legs of a sawbuck forming the Roman numeral X
Word Origin and History for sawbuck
n.

"ten-dollar bill," American English slang, 1850, from resemblance of X (Roman numeral 10) to the ends of a sawhorse. Sawbuck in the sense of "sawhorse" is attested only from 1862 but presumably is older (see saw (n.1)).

Slang definitions & phrases for sawbuck

sawbuck

noun

A ten-dollar bill; ten dollars

Related Terms

double sawbuck

[1850+; fr the resemblance of the Roman numeral X to the ends of a sawhorse]