Huck-a-buck/huck-n-buck

[Jonathan Lighter]

I don't know anything about this, Sam.

  JL

Sam Clements <SClements at NEO.RR.COM> wrote:
  ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
Sender: American Dialect Society
Poster: Sam Clements
Subject: Huck-a-buck/huck-n-buck
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I'm working on "huck-n-buck," over at the Straight Dope. =
http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=3D434843

The "Huck-n-Buck" seems to be attributed to a photograher of football =
players, James(Jim) Laugher. =
http://deuceofclubs.com/hucknbuck/hucknwhatnow.htm

Remember those "posed" football cards from the 1950's? =
http://deuceofclubs.com/hucknbuck/hucknbuck.htm

But "huck-a-buck" can be found, doing a Google book search, as early as =
1844. I haven't searched exhaustively. I'm too exhausted to try. The =
1844 cite describes the coarse cloth. Not what we want, I assume. [At =
first, only a coarse kind of goods called huck-a-buck, and vulgarly =
hag-a-bag, was made.] And this meaning goes back before that date.

But, an 1892 cite is for a kid's game......[
In AR, v. 59, the rhyme is given-=20
Buck shee, buck shee buck,=20
How many fingers do I hold up ?=20
In Warwickshire they simply say "Buck, Buck," etc.=20
In Suffolk " Huck-a-buck, huck-a-buck," etc. ]

>From =
http://books.google.com/books?id=3DUiwiAAAAMAAJ&pg=3DPA401&dq=3Dhuck+buck=
+-finn&num=3D100



So, where does Mr. Laugher come up with "huck-n-buck?" There is a =
suggestion that he told the players to act as if they were getting =
"bucked" off a horse. I forget where I read that. =20

The OED and HDAS appear to be silent on this.

Sam Clements

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