From subtitles for a Russian movie. The source translated for two-bit was:
полный/последний/конченный
[English meaning totally, absolutely (something bad)] (Do you know russian word "dno"?)
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3"Two bits" is an American expression for a quarter (dollar). Hence "Two-bit" is a slang adjective meaning "of little value". It doesn't appear to be a literal translation, but expresses a judgment which is presumably elsewhere in the script, or in the setting.– Colin FineCommented May 6, 2019 at 18:05
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2"Two-bit" is American slang for a quarter of a dollar. By extension, it means something cheap. A "two-bit jerk" would be a petty, unpleasant person.– user888379Commented May 6, 2019 at 18:06
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@ColinFine You beat me by a few seconds...– user888379Commented May 6, 2019 at 18:06
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2If you are interested in a more accurate translation, 'two-bit' doesn't seem to correspond to the original Russian. The more appropriate English would be 'total (or absolute) jerk', meaning literally that the person is all jerk. A 'two-bit' jerk would be a jerk that is of little value or negligible.– MitchCommented May 6, 2019 at 18:59
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1 Answer
"Two-bit" is an idiom meaning cheap or petty. It comes from a slang term for the American eighth of a dollar, a "bit." Even after the "bit" was phased out of the currency in 1792, the term "two-bit" persisted to refer to the quarter dollar.
A two-bit person isn't worth much. From the Oxford English Dictionary under "two, adj, n., and adv.":
1978 T. Willis Buckingham Palace Connection viii. 155 Some other two-bit General will try shooting us up.
When applied to people or things, unless it is used ironically, it is a put-down or insult, implying cheapness or low quality.
So "two-bit jerk" may mean that the character isn't of much importance and he's a jerk (i.e. he's rude or crass).
answered May 6, 2019 at 18:07
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2Side note: the British equivalent of "two-bit" is the derogatory tuppenny-ha’penny, an abbreviation of "two-and-a-half pence." You’d think he’d lost a Rolex rather than that tuppenny-ha’penny old watch of his. It's not heard much these days. Commented May 6, 2019 at 18:39
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2@WeatherVane Brits abbreviate "two-and-a-half-pence" with a phrase that's longer? Commented May 6, 2019 at 20:57
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1Also because tuppeny-ha'penny is pronounced with four syllables, not six. (tup-nee hape-nee) Commented May 6, 2019 at 21:12
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1pre-decimal there were smaller coins than the penny, ie: ha'penny and farthing– JasenCommented May 6, 2019 at 21:47
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3@supercat Decimal half pence were in circulation up till 1984. Commented May 6, 2019 at 22:24