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two cents slick

English translation: wily or conniving in a cheap and petty way

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:two cents slick
Selected answer:wily or conniving in a cheap and petty way
Entered by: Charles Davis

06:22 Mar 1, 2013
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Art/Literary - Slang
English term or phrase: two cents slick
"Sonji [first wife of Muhammad Ali) was two cents slick, if you understand the term."

These are the words of one of Muslim ministers in Ali's entourage about his first wife, as I indicated. Then he goes on to say: "She was a party girl, who lived life in the fast lane and came along at just the right time to catch Ali, a country boy coming out of Louisville. We warned Ali about her. She was very attractive, very popular in the nightclubs. Certain types of women would go in there at night, sit at the bar to be noticed, and people would seek them out. Sonji knew how to get the most out of being a beautiful woman in Chicago."

The quotes come from "Muhammad Ali: His Life and Times" by Thomas Hauser, p. 107.
Iwona Szymaniak
Poland
Local time: 19:31
wily or conniving in a cheap and petty way
Explanation:
She evidently was sexually attractive, but "slick" means that she was clever at getting what she wanted. It means someone who is astute and persuasive but probably not honest:

"a slick person is clever and good at persuading people but probably not honest or sincere
a slick car salesman"
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/slick

The basic idea of slick is "shiny", but lacking in depth: attractive only on the surface. But it also has this meaning of shrewd, plausible but dishonest.

"Two cents" is being used as a variant of "two-bit", meaning cheap, willing to stoop to any dishonest behaviour to get what you want. Two bits is literally two-eighths of a dollar, ie. a quarter, but it's an old expression for cheap, petty, contemptible:

"two-bit
Informal Costing or worth 25 cents: a two-bit cigar.
Slang Worth very little; petty or insignificant: a two-bit thief."
American Heritage Dictionary
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/two-bi...

""Two bits" or "two bit" continues in general use as a colloquial expression, primarily because of the song catchphrase "Shave and a Haircut, two bits." As an adjective, "two-bit" can be used to describe something cheap or unworthy."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_(money)#United_States

It's very often applied to shyster lawyers, and a "two-bit slick" lawyer is one who will stoop to any kind of cunning trick. The speaker may also have had in mind the expression "a two-bit whore", a very low-grade prostitute.

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Note added at 1 day17 hrs (2013-03-02 23:35:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The interesting reference posted by airmailrpl suggests another angle which had escaped me: "two-bit" may also carries the implication that her slickness was limited; she was clever enough to catch the country boy Ali, but no genius: cheap or insignificant, in the sense of not really being very competent.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 19:31
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
4 +5wily or conniving in a cheap and petty way
Charles Davis
3Pretty but cheap
Marco Bertoli


Discussion entries: 1





  

Answers


10 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
Pretty but cheap


Explanation:
«Two cents», as you probably know, meaning «a mean amount», as in «my two cents» (an unsolicited opinion).

Marco Bertoli
Italy
Local time: 19:31
Works in field
Native speaker of: Italian

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
neutral  Yvonne Gallagher: you haven't taken the "slick" into account at all
3 hrs
neutral  Sheila Wilson: the context says she was pretty, but it doesn't say that in this term
1 day 11 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

2 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +5
wily or conniving in a cheap and petty way


Explanation:
She evidently was sexually attractive, but "slick" means that she was clever at getting what she wanted. It means someone who is astute and persuasive but probably not honest:

"a slick person is clever and good at persuading people but probably not honest or sincere
a slick car salesman"
http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/slick

The basic idea of slick is "shiny", but lacking in depth: attractive only on the surface. But it also has this meaning of shrewd, plausible but dishonest.

"Two cents" is being used as a variant of "two-bit", meaning cheap, willing to stoop to any dishonest behaviour to get what you want. Two bits is literally two-eighths of a dollar, ie. a quarter, but it's an old expression for cheap, petty, contemptible:

"two-bit
Informal Costing or worth 25 cents: a two-bit cigar.
Slang Worth very little; petty or insignificant: a two-bit thief."
American Heritage Dictionary
http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/two-bi...

""Two bits" or "two bit" continues in general use as a colloquial expression, primarily because of the song catchphrase "Shave and a Haircut, two bits." As an adjective, "two-bit" can be used to describe something cheap or unworthy."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bit_(money)#United_States

It's very often applied to shyster lawyers, and a "two-bit slick" lawyer is one who will stoop to any kind of cunning trick. The speaker may also have had in mind the expression "a two-bit whore", a very low-grade prostitute.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day17 hrs (2013-03-02 23:35:38 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

The interesting reference posted by airmailrpl suggests another angle which had escaped me: "two-bit" may also carries the implication that her slickness was limited; she was clever enough to catch the country boy Ali, but no genius: cheap or insignificant, in the sense of not really being very competent.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 19:31
Works in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 16
Grading comment
Selected automatically based on peer agreement.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  P.L.F. Persio: well, I've definitely learned something today; thank you, Charles!
37 mins
  -> Thank you, missdutch!
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: yes, and it's great to see Asker give decent context for a change
47 mins
  -> Yes, it certainly is! Thanks, gallagy :)
agree  Veronika McLaren: excellent explanation
4 hrs
  -> Thanks very much, Veronika :)
agree  Sheila Wilson
1 day 9 hrs
  -> Thanks, Sheila!
agree  Phong Le
9 days
  -> Thank you, Phong Le :)
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)



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