Sawbuck

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 piece. The stock to be cut is placed in the upward facing "V"s of the end pieces where it may then be sawn.

A sawbuck is very simple to build. The five "V" sawbuck (middle right photo) was designed with 10 vertical 2x4's each 4 feet long and 4 horizontal 2x6's 5 feet long using 3.5 inch wood screws. It was designed this way in order to cut two or more smaller pieces (2-4 feet in length) of firewood in rapid succession. A sawbuck should be heavy enough to negate any kickback from the chainsaw while cutting. Building a sawbuck that is too light weight could result in injury as it may tip over while cutting.

Other uses

Sawbuck is also slang for a U.S. ten dollar bill as well as ten dollars worth of marijuana. The term may derive from the fact that older versions of the bill included the roman numeral for ten, "X", which resembles one of the ends of the wood supporting device described above; however, this is somewhat problematic because the first known use of "sawbuck" in print refers to the money and not the wood device. This name was most common in the days of large-sized notes. In poker terminology, "sawski" refers to a sawbuck.

ee also

*Sawhorse


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • 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

  • 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 — 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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