sawbones
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of sawbones
First recorded in 1830–40; saw 1 + bone + -s 3 ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“Put the sawbones like me out of business.”
From The New Yorker • Aug. 20, 2012
In New Winton's collection of characters the town sawbones, Dr. Bull, stands out like a large masculine thumb.
From Time Magazine Archive
Small wonder that they have been dubbed "sawbones," or that they have always hated the unpleasant word.
From Time Magazine Archive
Amid such scenes, sawbones of 16 nations got together last week for their first international meeting since before the war.
From Time Magazine Archive
Guess Lafe is fixing Mr. Blake’s leg.––Which reminds me, honey, that before we left the ranch, Mrs. Blake had me send for that lunger sawbones that’s come to live at Stockchute.
From Out of the Depths A Romance of Reclamation by Brehm, George
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
