Ever wonder why we call money clams?

Or bread, or dough, or bucks, or any of the other strange, food-adjacent, animal-inspired nicknames people use when talking about cash?

There’s something very American about the sheer variety of slang terms for dollars. It’s a little playful, a little rebellious, and very much rooted in the country’s informal, rapidly changing culture. While official terminology like dollar or note might show up in textbooks and balance sheets, most people use something else when talking about everyday money.

Let’s run through some of the most common nicknames—and explore where they came from.

Bucks

We’ll start with bucks, because it’s the most common.

If you’ve ever said “twenty bucks” instead of “twenty dollars”, you’ve used a phrase with roots in America’s frontier history. The term goes back to the 18th century, when deer skins (buckskins) were a common medium of exchange in trade with Native Americans and early settlers. One buck literally meant one skin. The term stuck, even long after animal pelts stopped being used for barter.[1]

It’s a rare case of slang outlasting the thing it was originally slang for.

Clams

This one’s a little murkier. There’s no strong historical evidence that clams were ever used as currency, but some theories suggest the nickname may have originated from older, Indigenous forms of money, like the wampum beads made from clam shells. It could also just be one of those slang words that stuck because it sounds funny — kind of like how you might call a friend “Chief” or “Champ” even if they’ve never earned the title.

Either way, if someone says they don’t have the “clams” to buy lunch, they mean they’re broke. This has the feel of 1920s slang, so you probably won’t hear it much, but if it does come up, you’ll know the meaning.

Dough and Bread

These two are linked. Dough seems to have appeared in the 19th century and is thought to come from the idea of bread being a basic necessity; so, if you have the dough, you can make the bread, and you won’t go hungry. By the early 20th century, bread joined in as its own standalone slang for money.

The connection isn’t that far-fetched. Money lets you buy food, and food is life.

Greenbacks

Now this one has a precise origin. During the Civil War, the Union began issuing paper currency with a distinct green back to finance the war. People started calling them greenbacks, and the name stuck around even after other colors started appearing on bills. Today, the nickname is mostly used nostalgically, but you still hear it every so often.

It’s one of the few examples where the slang started with the government and was picked up by the public.

Simoleons

This one’s got a fantastic 19th-century vibe to it. Simoleon was once a common slang term for a dollar, especially in vaudeville, pulp novels, and old gangster movies. Its origin isn’t totally clear, but some think it may be a play on the word simon — a British slang term for sixpence — mixed with Napoleon, as in the gold coins of Napoleon’s era.

It sounds classy and ridiculous all at once. No one says it anymore, but I kind of wish they did.

Benjamins

This one’s a modern classic. Referring to the $100 bill, which features Benjamin Franklin’s face, Benjamins gained popularity thanks to hip hop in the 1990s, especially with the iconic line “It’s all about the Benjamins” from the Puff Daddy (now Diddy) era.

No one calls a ten-dollar bill a Hamilton, but somehow Benjamins became an enduring part of the slang lexicon. Cultural power matters.

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Gen X Favorites

Not quite as old as clams, not quite as new as TikTok memes, these are the terms Gen X and older Millennials grew up with:

• Cheddar — Like bread and dough, but more processed. Popularized in the ’90s through hip hop and comedy. Adam Sandler even used it in some of his goofball roles. Jon Stewart still uses this one a lot on The Daily Show.
• Moolah — Fun to say, hard to trace. Possibly from Yiddish or Romani roots. It’s got that late-night infomercial vibe.
• Scratch — Often used for small amounts. “I just need a little scratch.”
• Cabbage — Another leafy food = another dollar word. Less common now, but still recognizable.
• Dead Presidents — A reference to the faces on American currency. You might hear “I want more dead presidents in my wallet” in ’90s rap or boomer grumbling.

These still pop up today, usually with some retro flair — either from someone older who doesn’t realize they’re dated, or from someone using them ironically.

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Newer slang… I’m not as aware of. I’m not in the US so my kids aren’t learning the current slang, so I can’t learn from them. But let me know any newer terms you’ve heard in the comments.

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David is an American teacher and translator lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time and searching for the perfect haiku. He blogs here and at laspina.org. Write him on Mastodon. 【Support @dbooster with Hive SBI】