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)