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
Barbara Kingsolver’s book Demon Copperhead is a retelling of Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield set in today’s Appalachia. Martha shares memories of a long-ago visit to Kingsolver’s family farm in Virginia, where they...
When Marilyn from Boston, Massachusetts, used the expression Them’s the berries! with neighbors in her hometown of nearby Arlington, Massachusetts, she was surprised they were unfamiliar with it. The phrase means something like “That’s...