Podcast

two-bit podcast

two-bit adj. [TOO-BIT]

两毛五分的，廉价的，微不足道的

Definition

1: cheap or trivial of its kind: petty, small-time
1：在同类中廉价的或琐碎的：同义词—petty，small-time
2: of the value of two bits
2：价值两毛五分（在美国口语中，bit价值一角二分半）

注：trivial：不重要的，琐碎的；petty：小的，琐碎的，次要的，狭隘的；small-time：不重要的（无足轻重的，不出色的，次等的）

Did You Know?

The money-related definition of two-bit makes its etymology obvious: it is derived from the noun phrase two bits. However, two bits is an interesting phrase because it actually means “the value of a quarter of a dollar.” There is no such thing as a single bit, at least not anymore. The now-obsolete Spanish dollar (also known as a peso or piece of eight) was composed of eight reales, or eight bits. The phrase two bits carried over into U.S. usage. It first appeared in print in English in the early 1700s (and later developed the figurative sense of “something of small worth or importance”), and was followed by its adjectival relative sometime around the beginning of the 19th century. These days, the adjective has far surpassed the noun in popularity.

词源词根演化：two bits (n.) —> two-bit (adj.)

two-bit这个形容词的定义与钱有关，也明显的指明了它的词源：它来自于名词短语two bits。但是有趣的是，two bits实际上表示“一美元的四分之一，即一个quarter”。事实上现实当中并不存在a single bit （一毛二分五厘），至少当代不存在了。现在已经过时了的西班牙dollar（也被称为peso比索，或者piece of eight）等价于eight reales。所以a quarter of dollar（一美元的四分之一，即二毛五分）等价于两个bits (two bits)。two bits这个名词短语被引入到美国使用，最初出现在1700s早期的印刷品中（随后发展出了比喻意义，用于“很低价值或者重要性的东西”），在19世纪早期有发展出了形容词用法two-bit。如今，反而是形容词用法更加流行了。

Examples

“In 1956, he published Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and Other Poems at City Lights Books, which was then, [Lawrence] Ferlinghetti says, both a one-room bookshop and a ‘two-bit poetry press’ in San Francisco.”
— Ira Silverberg, The Document Journal, December 10, 2018

在1956年，他在City Lights Books出版了Allen Ginsberg的《Howl and Other Poems》，Lawrence Ferlinghetti说，这只是San Francisco的一个房间的书店，以及价值两毛五的诗集。
“Bright lights shinning through the foggy 1950s London air is the memorable backdrop of Jules Dassin’s story of a two-bit American hustler, Harry Fabian, doing everything he can to stay ahead of his arrears and the doomed end pursuing him.”
— Kevin P. Sullivan, Vulture, 22 Jan. 2019

明媚的阳光穿越1950年代雾气笼罩的伦敦，这是Jules Dassin的关于微不足道的美国小人物Harrry Fabian的故事的值得回忆背景，他想尽一切办法试图偿还拖欠的借款以及注定的命运追逐着他。

注：backdrop：背景；hustler：非常活跃之人，<美俚语>骗子；arrear：到期未付款，欠账，未做之事

Reference

USA Money System 常见的美国货币

https://baike.baidu.com/item/美元/484146?fromtitle=美国货币&fromid=8347510#2

1 cent

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