two bits—(U.S. coll.) twenty five cents; a quarter coin:
- Many saloons served the “choicest goods” and steam beer at two bits a glass.
two-bit—(U.S. coll., attrib.)
1. of smth. that costs a quarter of a dollar:
- He smoked two-bit cigars and peered determinedly through steel-rimmed glasses.
2. (derog.) cheap; worthless:
- But people who took the time to vote have to feel like the whole process was a two-bit hoax.
Cf.: ten-cent man—(U.S. derog.) a small, narrow-minded, trifling man:
- Do you want a ten-cent man to fill a hundred-dollar job? How big a problem is this that you have demonstrated right here to me tonight?