Okay, I see that. I mean acceptable pragmatically. My suspicion is that a cashier in a store like like StayseaDee’s avoids buck not just for auditory reasons. And while DataX says it wouldn’t have offended his customers, I think that our unconscious tendency would be to never even consider it in that kind of store. It’s not that it’s slang, I believe, as much as it’s sociologically coded.
I’m working on a project for refugees who are hoping to start small businesses, and my job is the language part–how to make sure language doesn’t become a barrier to success.
I would say that “bucks” and its cousin “grand” to be too relaxed for serious places of business.
Let’s say your purchase came out to an even $40.00.
At an upscale retail establishment, I would be quite surprised if the clerk said, “That’ll be forty bucks.” I wouldn’t take offense (obviously) nor call for a manager but it would be seem a bit out of place. You’d probably expect something like, “That’s forty dollars even”.
Further down the retail line, maybe you’d hear it at a grocery or convenience store if the clerk were trying too hard to appear folksy. “That’s forty bucks, please.”
For an actual sales transaction, I would expect the use of “bucks” maybe from a street vendor or perhaps at a yard sale. (“That old unicycle? I’ll let you have it for thirty bucks.”)