buck three eighty
A pittance, or the amount that one lacks in order to purchase a local busfare.
Well, I imagine it’s not strictly an East Coast thing, as my father says “a buck 3 eighty-five” and he grew up in Wisconsin. And on the very least one of my uncles (one of his brothers) utilizes it also. contemplating that then, I’ve observed or observed odd monetary expressions like that in your context of mid-to-north-Atlantic Coast urbanites, and I’ve in no way understood what it’s designed to mean.
theme shoes Cease to struggle and you cease to live. – Thomas Carlyle
I see the words and they don’t understand me.
I think the comment was intended for this thread.
Ah, so!
Yes, I don’t what you said well.
Reported for merging.
Accidental new thread merged with existing reanimated zombie thread.
I honestly think the expression is stupid. It doesn’t communicate anything that any other random assortment of currencies couldn’t, as indicated by the number of variations. It sounds like something my old drunk ex-uncle would say. You’d tell him that he was so funny because you knew that’s what he wanted, but secretly be wondering if the constant boozing had broken his brain.
Is this seriously still in use?
Neither my wife (born and raised in Vermont) nor I (born and raised in Ohio) had heard this phrase before. I would’ve assumed “a buck three-eighty” was slang for “a miscellaneous small wad of cash and coins” (i.e. “a coupla bucks”) or $4.80 (one dollar plus three dollars plus eighty cents in change).
Ignorance fought.
That’s how The Virus got started, you know.
Never heard this phrase before. Grew up in Texas and lived in the Southwest and Hawaii.
Since I’m the one that resurrected this monster, I kind of feel (a little bit) obligated to continue participating.
I started this mess with the observation that my dear old Dad, used the phrase “two six bits”. Upon rereading the entire thread (again), I feel I ought to add that I’ve queried him about whether he had ever used the term “a buck three-eighty” or “a buck 3 eighty-five”, or if he could recall having heard it(them) being used. He responded, “No, can’t say I have.”
Like Siam Sam, I was (born and) raised in Texas and had never heard the term ‘buck three-eighty/eighty five’ being used, nor had I ever heard any of my multitudinous kinfolk in Louisiana (where my father and mother are from) use it, either. Just sayin’… 
A buck/dollar three-eighty is $1.83. The word sequence is exactly how numbers are spoken in German. Instead of saying eighty-three, Germans say three and eighty (in German, of course). For one hundred eighty-three, they say one hundred three and eighty. I imagine it’s the same in Yiddish, and no surprise it’s common in New York City. Somewhere along the way, the “and” got left out.