double sawbuck

English

Etymology

The number 20 is written XX in Roman numerals; this resembles two of the sawbucks used for cutting wood.

Pronunciation
  • Audio (AU)(file)

Noun

double sawbuck (plural double sawbucks)

  1. (US, slang) Twenty dollars; a twenty-dollar bill.
    • 1953, Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye, Penguin, published 2010, page 14:
      I got five double sawbucks out of my wallet and dropped them in front of him.
  2. (US, slang) A twenty-year prison sentence.
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