two-bit
[too-bit]
- costing twenty-five cents.
- inferior or unimportant; small-time: a two-bit actor.
Show More
Origin of two-bit
An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for two-bit
Contemporary Examples
By Monday evening, it had been leaked to the blogger The Two-Bit Idiot, who published it on the Web.
A published article compares state sponsored police brutality to the individual actions of a two-bit huckster on Youtube.
History's Vilest #SlatePitch Asks: Why Do We Bitterly Cling to Free Speech?Justin Green
September 26, 2012
What possible interest could she have in meeting a two-bit, half-term governor of Alaska?
The Republican takeover of the House is no less dramatic for having been predicted by every two-bit pundit on the planet.
Any two-bit comedian can stand onstage and spout ignorant ethnic slurs.
Historical Examples
Knocked off by a two-bit racket boss who thought he was being crossed.
Arm of the LawHarry Harrison
I loaned him a two-bit piece, kunnel, an' he tol' me all he knowed!
Old Man CurryCharles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan
Everett lapsed into a pose of deep concentration, like a two-bit swami.
TelempathyVance Simonds
Say, I haven't owned a two-bit piece since—wal, fer some time.
The Lone Star RangerZane Grey
An' he up an' said he wouldn't give a two-bit piece fer my life.
The Lone Star RangerZane Grey
two-bit
- worth next to nothing; cheap
Show More
Word Origin
C20: from the phrase two bits a small sum
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012