It might refer to the Greeks' nine muses. It might refer to using nine yards of fabric to make a fancy suit. What is the origin of "dressed to the nines," meaning to be all dressed up? Their shows usually featured trained dogs or ponies.Īround the middle of the 20 th century the phrase came to be used the way it is today – glitz and glitter with very little real substance. Back in the 19 th century and well into the 20 th there several itinerant entertainment troupes that traveled around small town America. This raises the question of what it was your father told you. So I thought I'd ask you where the phrase started and see if you have a different explanation. If his answer was correct a lot of people are using a phrase without any idea of its true meaning. A bit was worth an eighth of a Spanish dollar. It comes from the Spanish real which was called a bit. You often hear the phrase "dog and pony show." Many years ago I asked my father what that term meant. What does two bits mean from the 1920 Two bits is the same as one quarter. Those bits were also the "pieces of eight" the pirates were always yammering about. So two bits would be one quarter of an eight-reales. The thing about this coin was it could be easily broken into eight bits - pieces. It circulated in the United States until 1857. How much money is to bits I think you mean 'two bits' like the litte song, 'Shave and a haircut, two bits.' Two bits is a quarter, twenty five cents. Way back when the gold and silver of the New World made Spain wealthy, a common coin in New Spain and Mexico was the eight-reales silver coin.Īt one time it was the most commonly used coin in the world. What is the source of the phrase "two bits," meaning 25 cents?
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