split bit
n.— Note: “Bit” is well-established slang meaning “prison term.” «Under the state laws that govern sentencing, grand larceny is considered a non-violent crime, and it carries no mandatory minimum prison or jail sentence. In similar cases, judges often impose sentences that carry a combination of six months” county jail time and five years” probation—an arrangement that’s commonly known as a “split bit.”» —“Prosecutors, judge disagree on sentence for Montgomery cop Barber” Times Herald-Record (Middletown, New York) May 29, 2009. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
In the 15th century, the word respair meant “to have hope again.” Although this word fell out of use, it’s among dozens collected in a new book of soothing vocabulary for troubled times. Plus, baseball slang: If a batter...
Asthenosphere, a geologist’s term for the molten layer beneath the earth’s crust, sparks a journey that stretches all the way from ancient Greece to the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Plus: What the heck is a dogberg? It’s when...