In honor of America’s 250th anniversary year, I’m starting a new series on colonial slang that deserves a comeback and today’s star is one of my favorites: sawbones. That was the nickname for a surgeon or doctor back in the day, especially the kind who might be called upon to perform an amputation. No fancy hospital dramas. Just grit, speed, and a whole lot of nerve. The word is equal parts funny and chilling, which is exactly why it has survived in the shadows of old stories. So tell me, friend

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The Lives and Legacies of Enslaved People in Colonial America | Britannica