bit

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.

1) past part. of the verb bite. Cheated, taken in. In Yorkshire, England, a cheat is called a bite. Dr. Johnson notices this vulgarism.

Asleep and naked as an Indian lay,

An honest factor stole a gem away;

He pledg'd it to the Knight; the Knight had wit,

So kept the diamond, and the rogue was bit.

Pope.

2) A BIT

A little; a little while. As "wait a bit;" "after a bit."

3) BIT

(Span. pieza.) The name in the Southern States of silver coin of the value of one-eighth of a dollar. The Spanish real (de plata).

Related Words

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Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
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Money. He grappled the cull's bit; he seized the man's money. A bit is also the smallest coin in Jam...

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A West Indian silver coin, varying from 4 d. to 6 d. In America it is 12-1/2 cents, and in the Spani...

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Canker-bit
·adj Eaten out by canker, or as by canker. ...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
Canon bit
·- That part of a bit which is put in a horse's mouth. ...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
Fippenny bit
·- The Spanish half real, or one sixteenth of a dollar, — so called in Pennsylvania and the adjacent...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
Frogs-bit
·noun <<Frogbit>>. ...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
Hunger-bit
·adj ·Alt. of Hunger-bitten. ...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
Weather-bit
·noun A turn of the cable about the end of the windlass, without the bits. ...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
fippenny bit
or contracted, FIP. Fivepence. In the State of Pennsylvania, the vulgar name for the Spanish half-re...

Dictionary of American Words And Phrases by John Russell Bartlett.
dab bit
a small quantity, less than a dab. Glou. ...

A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
way-bit
(or rather a WEE-BIT), a little piece ; a mile and a wee -bit, or way-bit. Yorksh. WEE is Scotch for...

A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose
vent-bit
A peculiar augur or screw gimlet used for clearing the vent of a gun when obstructed. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book
Wait-a-bit
·add. ·noun The prickly ash. II. Wait-a-bit ·add. ·noun The grapple plant. III. Wait-a-bit ·add. ·...

Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
queer bit-makers
Coiners. CANT. ...

Dictionary of The Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose
rouse and bit
The order to turn out of the hammocks. ...

The Sailor's Word-Book