The word “bit” long meant, in England, any coin of a low denomination. In early America, “bit” was used for some Spanish and Mexican coins that circulated and were worth one-eighth of a peso, or about 12 and one-half cents. Hence, two bits would have equaled about 25 cents.

Why do they call it two bits?

The origin of bit comes from the practice of cutting the Spanish dollar (peso) into eight radial pieces to make change. ... Thus, twenty-five cents was dubbed "two bits," as it was a quarter of a Spanish dollar. Because there was no one-bit coin, a dime (10c) was sometimes called a short bit and 15c a long bit.

What does my two bits mean?

One's opinion or point of view, for whatever it may be worth, generally when it is unasked for. ... He always insists on putting in his two bits whether we want his opinion or not! Here's my two bits: I think the staff would really appreciate a bump in their pay.

How much was a bit worth in the Old West?

The supposed value of the bit is twelve and a half cents, eight to the dollar. When it comes to two bits, the quarter-dollar stands for the required amount. But how about an odd bit? The nearest coin to it is a dime, which is, short by a fifth.

How many bits are in a half dollar?

One-half is four-bits and three quarters are six-bits. Many believe these expressions to be slang, yet, history suggests they are perfectly good nomenclature.

Where did Bytes Come From? - Computerphile

44 related questions found

Why are coins called pieces of eight?

The Spanish dollar coin was worth eight reales and could be physically cut into eight pieces, or "bits," to make change -- hence the colloquial name "pieces of eight." The dollar coin could also be cut into quarters, and "two bits" became American slang for a quarter dollar, or 25 cents.

Why is 4 bits called a nibble?

The term nibble originates from its representing "half a byte", with byte a homophone of the English word bite. ... An 8-bit byte is split in half and each nibble is used to store one decimal digit.

What coins did cowboys use?

Anyone who has a Morgan Silver Dollar in their collection may actually have a coin that passed through the hands of one of America's most notorious Wild West outlaws! Heck, it's said that Cowboys in the old west use to drop Morgan Silver Dollars in their canteens to preserve water on long trips.

What does bit mean in slang?

​(British English, slang) the boyfriend or girlfriend of somebody who is already married or in a steady sexual relationship with somebody else. Is he your bit on the side?

What currency did pioneers use?

Beaver Coins, also known in pioneer days as Beaver Money, were gold coins minted in Oregon in 1849. Their name comes from the prominent beaver depicted on the obverse of the coins. The currency contained 8% more gold than contemporary coins from the United States of America.

What does two bits mean slang?

Answer: Two bits is commonly understood in America to be one quarter. ... In early America, “bit” was used for some Spanish and Mexican coins that circulated and were worth one-eighth of a peso, or about 12 and one-half cents. Hence, two bits would have equaled about 25 cents.

What is the meaning of 4 bits?

In computer architecture, 4-bit integers, memory addresses, or other data units are those that are 4 bits wide. ... A group of four bits is also called a nibble and has 24 = 16 possible values.

Where did the phrase shave and a haircut two bits come from?

The first known occurrence of the tune is from an 1899 Charles Hale song, "At a Darktown Cakewalk", while it wasn't until a 1939 song (with Milton Berle) "Shave and a Haircut - Shampoo", which used the notes near the end, that the brief tune had lyrics.

What does the term two cents mean?

1 or two cents' worth : an opinion offered on a topic under discussion send your two cents' worth to your senator. 2 : a sum or object of very small value : practically nothing said angrily that for two cents he'd punch your nose.

What does bite me mean in America?

US offensive. used to say to someone that they have made you feel angry or embarrassed. Causing feelings of anger and displeasure.

Did my bit Meaning?

If you do your bit, you do something that, to a small or limited extent, helps to achieve something. Marcie always tried to do her bit. Synonyms: aid, help, assist, cooperate More Synonyms of do your bit.

Do bits meaning Love Island?

To do bits, basically, means to hook up. In 2018, former islander Wes Nelson famously made a Do Bits Society (DBS) with other male contestants in which they reminisced about their night-time escapades over orange juice in the morning.

What was a thumper in the Old West?

Thumper – A gross falsehood.

Was there paper money in the Wild West?

One by one, colonies began to issue their own paper money to serve as a convenient medium of exchange. In 1690, the Province of Massachusetts Bay created "the first authorized paper money issued by any government in the Western World".

How much did ammo cost in the Old West?

22 cartridges for $6, while 56-50 rounds went for $40. A Colt 1890 catalogue listed 1,000 rounds of . 22 rimfire for $5, while . 32 centerfire went for $11.32.

Why is a byte called a byte?

The term byte was coined by Werner Buchholz in June 1956, during the early design phase for the IBM Stretch computer, which had addressing to the bit and variable field length (VFL) instructions with a byte size encoded in the instruction. It is a deliberate respelling of bite to avoid accidental mutation to bit.

What does LSB stand for in the binary system?

In a binary number, the bit furthest to the left is called the most significant bit (msb) and the bit furthest to the right is called the least significant bit (lsb). msb | 10010010 | lsb Four systems for representing negative numbers: Signed Magnitude.

What is a bit a nybble a byte and a word?

Each 1 or 0 in a binary number is called a bit. From there, a group of 4 bits is called a nibble, and 8-bits makes a byte. Bytes are a pretty common buzzword when working in binary. ... Word is another length buzzword that gets thrown out from time-to-time.

What are the 9 pieces of 8 Pirates of the Caribbean?

It's a Spanish silver coin worth 8 Spanish reales. So the 9 pirates would break the coin (worth 8) into 9 pieces. One piece of the coin for each of the 9 pirates. So basically 9 pieces of a coin worth 8 of it's face value.