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U.S. South and the West Indies
- The colloquial sense of "small coin" in two bits, etc. is originally from the U.S. South and the West Indies, in reference to silver wedges cut or stamped from Spanish dollars (later Mexican reals); transferred to "eighth of a dollar."
www.etymonline.com/word/two-bit
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Where did 'two bits' come from?
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Where did the word 'bit' come from?
Nov 6, 2023 · Where did this odd slang come from? In exploring this linguistic curiosity, I discovered the key lies in early Spanish coins that were quite literally cut into "bits". Let‘s take a fun dive into the history of "two bits", and learn why this relic of slang is still bits of fun to use today.
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" Shave and a Haircut " and the associated response " two bits " is a seven-note musical call-and-response couplet, riff or fanfare popularly used at the end of a musical performance, usually for comedic effect. It is used melodically or rhythmically, for example as a door knocker.
The quarter's nickname "two bits" comes from a time when Spanish dollar where in use in the US and were cut into 8 smaller parts, each one worth 12 1⁄2c.
Aug 15, 2018 · Authorized by a Spanish Royal Decree dated 14 September 1519 to melt, cast, mark and put aside the royal-fifth of the gold and silver being collected from the Aztecs in Mexico City...
- Coinweek
As the song says, a shave and a haircut in early Cumberland County barber shops cost around a quarter or “two bits”. In our local communities the barber shop was, and still is a place where men go to get that shave, haircut or both and while they wait their turn to exchange the local gossip, personal views on the weather and on the politics ...
Feb 23, 2013 · The peso quickly became a global currency. It was relatively pure silver, it was uniform in size and weight, and it had one special characteristic: it could be divided like a pie into eight reales. In English, those reales became known as “bits”. Two bits were a quarter of a peso.
The term was imported into North American English as a result of contact with the Spanish Empire (and following Independence, contact with Mexico). The "real de a ocho" coin was often cut into eight parts to "make change" in a very physical way.
