155: two-bit May 12, 2015

The origin of a word is usually pretty old, or with invented words, deriving from preexisting old words; in the case of phrases however, the derivation is usually something that requires a recent story to know. The first definition of 'two-bit' makes its etymology make one say sarcastically, "no, really‽": it is derived from the noun 'two bits.' 'Two bits' interestingly, means "the value of a quarter of a dollar." As we no longer have eighths of dollars, so it required two bits to make a quarter. The now obsolete Spanish dollar was composed of eight reals, or eight bits, so a quarter of the dollar was equal to two bits. This is from where the figurative sense of "something of small worth or importance derives. The phrase 'two bits' carried over into U.S. usage, though there is no bit coin in U.S. currency (unless you consider the online 'bitcoin'). 'Two bits' first appeared in print in English in 1730 as a noun, followed in 1802 by its adjectival relative.Today, hardly anyone uses 'two bit' as a noun.