- bones (n.)
- plural of bone (n.). As a colloquial way to say "dice," it is attested from late 14c. As a nickname for a surgeon, it dates to 1887, short for sawbones. To make bones about something (mid-15c.) refers to bones found in soup, etc., as an obstacle to being swallowed. To feel something in one's bones "have a presentiment" is 1867, American English.
