quarter

n.

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. Syn. tayste, crumb, quad. Usage: rare. General discussion of such terms is under nybble.