PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AT THE UPPER RIGHT.  IT’S FREE!

You will ONLY receive notifications when I post new entries to my blog

To Pass the Buck or Not

 

President Harry S. Truman was known for a placard he kept on his desk in the oval office.  The sign read, “The Buck Stops Here.”

In more modern times someone hearing about that might ask, “What buck?  Why does it stop here?  What is a buck in the first place?”

First, you have to keep in mind that a male deer is called a buck…but that’s only part of the story.

——————————————

In Truman’s time and before, the phrase “pass the buck” is thought to have originated as a poker term.

In an 1887 work by J.W. Keller titled “Draw Poker”, the writer states, “The ‘buck’ is any inanimate object, usually a knife or pencil, which is thrown into a jack pot and temporarily taken by the winner of the pot. Whenever the deal reaches the holder of the ‘buck,’ a new jack pot must be made.”

Many etymologists (people who study the origins of words) think that inanimate object was called a “buck” because of the common use of a knife, as I said before.  Knives in those times, especially on the American frontier, frequently had a handle made of deer antler, commonly called “buckhorn”.

Thus, to “pass the buck”, in the strictest sense, meant to give the responsibility for the jackpot to someone else.  Thus it came to be known as shifting the responsibility for something, say a mistake, to someone else…shifting the blame or, passing the buck.

——————————————

In other words, President Truman was taking full responsibility for his actions and, more generally, his country.  In these days of politicians seeking to take credit for anything good and avoid blame for everything negative, a pol like ole “Give ‘em hell, Harry,”might be a welcome relief.

Just sayin’.

——————————————

In the English language, more specifically the Americanized version of that tongue, there are a few expressions that use the term “buck.”  Besides the two detailed above, the word is used as a slang expression meaning a dollar.

Although, again, etymologists disagree, the general consensus may surprise you.  The use of “buck” for value came before the adoption of the dollar as the preferred currency in the U.S.

Long story short, it came from the fur trade and the frontiersman’s need for supplies.

——————————————

Before we became a country, there were multiple types of money in use.  Commonly there was the English pound but there was also the Spanish reale and the frank from France.

Part of the problem was that there was not an abundance of any of those monetary forms in the wilderness, whereas there were plenty of things of value that people wanted.  Most notably, people in civilization wanted furs and leathers – animal skins.  Deer were common and the hides were of a good, usable size.

Remember the male deer?  In 1748, about 44 years before the U.S. dollar was first made, there is a record of Native Americans purchasing a cask of whiskey for “5 bucks”, meaning of course, five deerskins.

——————————————

To clarify, a buck didn’t have to mean a deerskin, but could refer to its equivalent in other skins.  Six good quality beaver skins might purchase the same value in merchandise as one buck skin.  In other words, that cask of whiskey the Native Americans bought might just as well have been purchased for 30 beaver pelts.

Anyway, you get the idea.

——————————————

There is another expression for money that uses the word buck, but doesn’t come directly from the male deer.

Sometimes you’ll hear a ten dollar bill referred to as a sawbuck.  Why’s that?

Well, if you’ve ever seen a real sawbuck, you know it is a structure consisting of two pairs of legs crossed so the top of the X will nestle a log for sawing.  The Roman numeral for 10 is X.

——————————————

But where does that log holding structure get its name?  A saw buck or a saw horse almost always has four legs…like a deer, or a horse.  Plus, the part that holds the logs is sometimes covered in leather to keep the logs from slipping…leather from a deer.

The name most likely came from the resemblance.

So a ten dollar bill didn’t get its name directly from a deer, but it acquired it from an object that DID get its name from a deer.

——————————————

Never let it be said that I missed an opportunity to confuse my readers.

——————————————

When is the last time you watched a rodeo and got to see a cowboy ride a bucking bronco?  Remember how the horse would kick its hind legs high into the air and land on its front hooves?

A deer that has been shot cleanly through the heart, whether it’s with a rifle, spear, or arrow, will leap exactly like that.

In other words, he bucks.

——————————————

Now, if you ever hear someone muse about the origin of the expression, five bucks, or saw buck, or a bucking horse, you can thank me for taking the time to explain it to you.

It could have been worse.  I could have left the responsibility to someone else.

——————————————

But I don’t want to pass the buck.

 

PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AT THE UPPER RIGHT.  IT’S FREE!

You will ONLY receive notifications when I post new entries to my blog.

Go to the top of the right hand column where it says, “SUBSCRIBE TO BLOG VIA EMAIL”.  Fill in your email and hit the “Subscribe” button.  You will receive a verification email.  Please confirm that you want to subscribe by clicking, “Confirm Follow” and you will be set!  Thanks!

It doesn’t seem to work from a cell phone, only a computer.  I don’t know why.  Sorry.  If there’s a problem, send me your email address and I’ll sign you up.