# "A buck three-eighty" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 7, 1999, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619 "1999-04-07T23:05:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/21 "2011-09-14T07:27:22Z")
Oh nooooo, it’s still _ALIVE_! Quick! Somebody shoot it in the head, for Og’s sake! My Dad always said, “two six bits”. (He was born and raised in North Central Louisiana.) Technically, that would amount to $1.50. :rolleyes: Remember the jingle/rhyme, “Two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar…”? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/22 "2011-09-14T07:43:25Z")
Maybe if we give it the tree-fiddy it’ll go away. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/23 "2011-09-14T08:45:00Z")
Was this resurrected by a spammer or something? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/24 "2011-09-14T10:36:57Z")
This is probably not only the oldest zombie thread ever revived, it comes close to being the oldest one that ever could be revived, since it was started only about a month after the SDMB began. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/25 "2011-09-14T10:40:29Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Maybe if we give it the tree-fiddy it’ll go away. Well, it was at about that time that I realized that this thread was actually the GOD-DAMNED Loch Ness Monster. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/26 "2011-09-14T12:06:15Z")
I thought “a buck three-eighty” was a logically contradictory phrase meaning “nonsense”. I thought it was a Milwaukee-ism, along with “on the corner of 25th and Jabirdie”. Actually, it was more “a buck tree-eighty”. Down by where the street car bends the corner 'round, aina? Regards, Shodan from 'Sconsin ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/27 "2011-09-14T15:44:26Z")
I can’t believe I didn’t realize I was reading such an ancient thread until it was too late. But I have never heard any of these phrases so it has been very educational. ---
**Author:** ![Pitchmeister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pitchmeister/32/3459_2.png) [@Pitchmeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pitchmeister)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/28 "2011-09-14T15:48:05Z")
Wasn’t the absence of a user name a clue? ---
**Author:** ![MikeF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MikeF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeF)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/29 "2011-09-14T18:27:53Z")
I’ve also heard “a nickel ninety-five”, “a quarter point two” and “eleventy three”. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/30 "2011-09-14T18:33:46Z")
> [@OldBroad](#): > > Old Chicago area expression “a buck two ninety eight” “Coupla two tree bucks” is another common expression around here for the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/31 "2011-09-14T18:59:43Z")
> [@Derleth](#): > > Maybe if we give it the tree-fiddy it’ll go away. Damn it! You know if you give it the tree-fiddy it’s never gonna go away. It’ll just keep coming back. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/32 "2011-09-14T21:11:15Z")
> [@chorpler](#): > > Was this resurrected by a spammer or something? Spammer?! A most emphatic, NOT! I am offended by the accusation, sir. I request a retraction of the allegation, or I shall be forced to challenge you to pistols at ten paces, in the courtyard square come the dawn. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2011, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/33 "2011-09-14T23:18:18Z")
I have never heard any of these phrases. But I once had a boss who said “It’s a half o’ six o’ one, two dozen of another.” Yes, he was an idiot; he actually thought that’s how the phrase went. (At least he wasn’t a zombie.) ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/34 "2011-09-15T16:35:23Z")
We’ve received quite a few thread reports on this old zombie, so I’d like to take a moment to remind everyone of the zombie policy. Post #4 in the [FAQ - Guidelines and Etiquette on the SDMB](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=384745) says: > [@FAQ - On resurrecting old threads](#): > > - In Comments on Cecil’s Columns, Comments on Staff Reports, Games Room, **General Questions** , and Straight Dope Chicago: We’re less concerned about resurrected threads. The reasons we dislike zombie threads don’t usually apply. We’ll generally leave such threads open, unless there is some compelling reason for taking moderator action (emphasis mine) When a spammer reopens a zombie, we’ll typically delete the spammer’s post (or hide it), which drops the zombie back down in the list where it was. When a member revives one just to post “me, too” or to argue with someone who hasn’t been online in six years, we will ask them not to do that, and sometimes lock the thread. But every now and then, we have a conversation like this one, which was picked up 12 years later as if it had never stopped; where the new posts have no less to offer than the old ones. There’s no “compelling reason” to close it, so we let it live. Thanks for the thread reports, though. It’s always better to get a report we don’t need than to miss a problem! ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/35 "2011-09-15T17:13:01Z")
With all due respect, (and apologies, if the powers that be, think I should) I don’t feel that I brought that zombie back to life with a “ **new posts that had less to offer than the old ones** ”. (bolding is my paraphrasing, of part of the mod’s post) My post was on topic and was not a “me too”, nor a repetition or slight variation of a previous post. (I read the _ **entire** _ thread before I posted, although I _ **did** _ neglect to note that it was, well… ancient. :D) Kindly pardon the noob _faux pas_.:smack: Since it seems to have wound someone’s panties into a knot, :rolleyes: I’ll endeavour to refrain from resurrecting the dead, in the future. ---
**Author:** ![Cartoonacy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@Cartoonacy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartoonacy)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/36 "2011-09-15T21:26:08Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > I don’t feel that I brought that zombie back to life with a “ **new posts that had less to offer than the old ones** ”. Pardon me for interrupting, but what he actually said was “the new posts have \*\*no \*\*less to offer than the old ones.” That’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![isaiahrobinson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/85e7bf/32.png) [@isaiahrobinson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/isaiahrobinson)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/37 "2011-09-15T21:47:16Z")
In West Coast gang culture putting “a buck fifty” across someone’s face means cutting them right down across the face with a razor, often from the ear to the corner of the mouth, leaving a scar. The guy who plays Omar Little in the Wire, Michael K. Williams, has a buck fifty scar across his face as shown [in this photo](http://quietlunch.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/tumblr_kyb1fzlzl81qa42jro1_500.jpg). I don’t know if that usage is even remotely relevant but I thought I’d mention it… ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/38 "2011-09-16T00:15:19Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > With all due respect, (and apologies, if the powers that be, think I should) I don’t feel that I brought that zombie back to life with a “ **new posts that had less to offer than the old ones** ”. > (bolding is my paraphrasing, of part of the mod’s post) > > My post was on topic and was not a “me too”, nor a repetition or slight variation of a previous post. (I read the _ **entire** _ thread before I posted, although I _ **did** _ neglect to note that it was, well… ancient. :D) > Kindly pardon the noob _faux pas_.:smack: > > Since it seems to have wound someone’s panties into a knot, :rolleyes: I’ll endeavour to refrain from resurrecting the dead, in the future. As **Cartoonacy** already mentioned, you completely misread my post – taking from it exactly the opposite of what I said. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/39 "2011-09-16T00:20:42Z")
> [@Cartoonacy](#): > > Pardon me for interrupting, but what he actually said was “the new posts have \*\*no \*\*less to offer than the old ones.” That’s a good thing. You are absolutely correct, sir. :smack: I humbly offer a sincere apology to the Mod and the board in general, for that transgression. ☹ I still stand behind \*\*\*this part \*\*\*of my post, though. 🙂 > [@](#): > > My post was on topic and was not a “me too”, nor a repetition or slight variation of a previous post. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619/40 "2011-09-16T02:53:09Z")
A “buck” is a variable quantity. I’ve seen it used to mean anything from one dollar to, in an actual verbal quote in a professional setting, a million dollars. I would default to “a buck three-eighty” equaling $1380, but I’d ask for clarification. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-buck-three-eighty/4619.md?page=3)