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
Samantha Harvey’s novel Orbital is a sensuous, exhilarating meditation about the strangeness of life on a space station, with its mix of tedious tasks and jaw-dropping views. And: a musician who rode the rails in his youth shares the slang he...
Steve, a singer-songwriter from Rock Springs, Wyoming, shares some slang he picked up while months riding the rails and busking. Spanging refers to panhandling, from asking for “spare change.” The term bull refers to a type of security...