A Dallas, Texas, listener is annoyed when he sees a price listed with the dollar sign after the amount, rather than before, as in 500$ rather than $500. In some parts of the world, however, the currency symbol routinely follows the number. This is...
Why do we call a ten-dollar bill a sawbuck? The support for woodworking known as a sawbuck folds out into the shape of an X, the same shape as the Roman numeral for ten. Hence, the slang term for the currency worth ten bucks. This is part of a...
Martha explains the origin of the word coin, as in “to coin a phrase.” This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of “Etymology of Coin” Hello, you have A Way with Words. Hi, this is Noah Taylor calling from Seneca, South Carolina. Oh, hi Noah...
yard n.— «In broker speak, a bank might ask for a “yard”—one billion in a designated currency.» —“To hide desperation for cash, banks may be falsifying interest rate reports” by Carrick Mollenkamp Wall Street Journal Apr. 16, 2008. (source: Double...

