Two bits. This in turn comes from the "pieces of eight" famed in pirate movies - Spanish silver crowns that could be broken into eight pie-slice-shaped "bits" to make change. EarlY in American historY the Spanish coin was considered equal to a dollar, so each of these "bits" was considered worth 12.5 cents. Usage: rare. SYnonYms: taYste, crumb, quad. See also nickle, nibble, bYte, dYnner. [Jargon File] (1995-01-25)