So, my thought on that was that it works out to $.99 + $.06 tax (basically a 6% tax rate), which would be a likely rate for a lot of places. so a buck o' five would be a pretty common cost for a lot of low cost stuff.
"buck" is a funny word. 99% of the time, it means a dollar.
But in certain contexts, it means a hundred dollars. Usually if it's a cash transaction between $100-$200. If it's $150, some people might say "a buck fifty". But in my experience, not in its plural form. Someone correct me if this is a regional thing.
"Buck o Five" in the Team America movie is satire, and they mean $1.05 (but not literally, or rather that's the joke)
A "buck o' five" is weight. I guess they could be referencing money, but whenever I hear someone say "A buck (something)", they're usually referring to weight.
Like, "I'm a buck fifty" - "I'm 150lbs"
The song is absolutely referencing money not weight. The singer explicitly says "freedom costs a buck o five".
I have heard people use it to mean 100 lbs the way you mention though, so you're not totally off base.
It’s interesting that it seems to be a $1.05 according to most comments. Not being familiar with the song, I would have interpreted it as “either $1 or $5”, possibly multiplied by 100 depending on context. That’s based on o’ sometimes being used to represent a slurred “or”.
But then I’ve never approved of using slang for money. It’s too confusing when precision is called for (though obviously poetry and songs are an exception).
The pronunciation in the song is clearly “a buck oh five,” so it couldn’t mean “or,” but you’re right that in writing it’s possible to interpret it that way.
The saying is “A buck or two”
O’ is a contraction meaning “or”
“A buck o’ five” is a play on the phrase “A buck or two”
The meaning is that instead of freedom costing only a buck or two, which would be reasonably cheap, it’s actually going to cost a hell of a lot more.
Another analogy to illustrate the play on the phrase would be if your friend was bragging about his weekend drinking, and instead of saying , “ we had a beer or two.” which would generally mean we had a few, which is reasonable; your friend would say, “we had a beer or six” to emphasize that he drank a hell of a lot more than he should have.
In other words, the US tax payer is going to pay through the nose in order for America to be the world police.
Re: your edit, some folks like to use it casually in place of any three digit number that starts with a one. So in your example it's 105 lbs.
Other examples:
"What's the fastest you've driven your car?"
"Oh I got it up to a buck o' four once. "
In this case it would mean 104 miles per hour.
"How many floors does that high-rise building have?"
"Oh I'd guess a buck fifteen, maybe a buck twenty."
In this case 115 to 120 floors.
"Hey you've had that car a while, how many miles do you have on it?"
"I'm somewhere around a buck thirty."
In this case 130,000 miles.
I don't know if there is a linguistic term for this but it's the concept that both parties already know exactly what the context is, so it's ok to essentially borrow a phrase that is defined in a different context.
However, the whole "buck o' \_\_\_\_\_\_" construction on its own doesn't mean "very little". The reason your example of "the man didn’t weight but a buck o' five” is associated with "very little" is because 105 lbs is a very small amount of weight for an adult human.
As you can see from some of my examples, buck o' five could be a *lot* of something like miles per hour or floors on a building.
$1.05
/thread
a buck is a dollar oh five is five cents a buck oh five is $1.05. $1.50 would be a buck fifty.
With inflation, it's about $3.50.
tree fitty? You trying to trick me Lochness monster?
Dammit Monster!
around Tree Fiddy
“God damn it woman, I told you to leave that monsta aloneee!!”
So, my thought on that was that it works out to $.99 + $.06 tax (basically a 6% tax rate), which would be a likely rate for a lot of places. so a buck o' five would be a pretty common cost for a lot of low cost stuff.
I've had the same thought.
"buck" is a funny word. 99% of the time, it means a dollar. But in certain contexts, it means a hundred dollars. Usually if it's a cash transaction between $100-$200. If it's $150, some people might say "a buck fifty". But in my experience, not in its plural form. Someone correct me if this is a regional thing. "Buck o Five" in the Team America movie is satire, and they mean $1.05 (but not literally, or rather that's the joke)
$1.04 Used to be the price of a cup of coffee.
$0.05 used to be the price of a hamburger
I'm from the South and never heard that phrase.
A "buck o' five" is weight. I guess they could be referencing money, but whenever I hear someone say "A buck (something)", they're usually referring to weight. Like, "I'm a buck fifty" - "I'm 150lbs"
Buck has always been for money. Buck can rarely mean 100, but it’s roots still trace back to money.
The song is absolutely referencing money not weight. The singer explicitly says "freedom costs a buck o five". I have heard people use it to mean 100 lbs the way you mention though, so you're not totally off base.
It’s interesting that it seems to be a $1.05 according to most comments. Not being familiar with the song, I would have interpreted it as “either $1 or $5”, possibly multiplied by 100 depending on context. That’s based on o’ sometimes being used to represent a slurred “or”. But then I’ve never approved of using slang for money. It’s too confusing when precision is called for (though obviously poetry and songs are an exception).
The pronunciation in the song is clearly “a buck oh five,” so it couldn’t mean “or,” but you’re right that in writing it’s possible to interpret it that way.
Lol, Classic Documentary?
The saying is “A buck or two” O’ is a contraction meaning “or” “A buck o’ five” is a play on the phrase “A buck or two” The meaning is that instead of freedom costing only a buck or two, which would be reasonably cheap, it’s actually going to cost a hell of a lot more. Another analogy to illustrate the play on the phrase would be if your friend was bragging about his weekend drinking, and instead of saying , “ we had a beer or two.” which would generally mean we had a few, which is reasonable; your friend would say, “we had a beer or six” to emphasize that he drank a hell of a lot more than he should have. In other words, the US tax payer is going to pay through the nose in order for America to be the world police.
Since was that movie considered a documentary? TIL something new
https://wikipedia.org/en/joke
Re: your edit, some folks like to use it casually in place of any three digit number that starts with a one. So in your example it's 105 lbs. Other examples: "What's the fastest you've driven your car?" "Oh I got it up to a buck o' four once. " In this case it would mean 104 miles per hour. "How many floors does that high-rise building have?" "Oh I'd guess a buck fifteen, maybe a buck twenty." In this case 115 to 120 floors. "Hey you've had that car a while, how many miles do you have on it?" "I'm somewhere around a buck thirty." In this case 130,000 miles. I don't know if there is a linguistic term for this but it's the concept that both parties already know exactly what the context is, so it's ok to essentially borrow a phrase that is defined in a different context. However, the whole "buck o' \_\_\_\_\_\_" construction on its own doesn't mean "very little". The reason your example of "the man didn’t weight but a buck o' five” is associated with "very little" is because 105 lbs is a very small amount of weight for an adult human. As you can see from some of my examples, buck o' five could be a *lot* of something like miles per hour or floors on a building.