two-by-four
adj1
Measuring two inches by four inches.
2
Broadly Small or cramped.
two by four
nounalso spelled two-by-four1
Canada, US A length of sawn wood of cross section nominally 2 inches by 4 inches (actual dimensions 1½ × 3½ in modern use), most often employed as structural framing lumber (dimensional lumber).
- Well, Moses stood on the Red Sea shore, And smote the water with a two by four1959, “Mary Don't You Weep”, performed by Nat King Cole:
- Moses stood on the Red Sea shore, smotin' that water with a two by four(Can we date this quote?), “Linin' Track”, performed by Lead Belly:
- He'll plan a two by four / But not for me.1930, George, Ira Gershwin, “But Not for Me”:
3
Slang Synonym of Tijuana Bible (“kind of pornographic comic book”).
- […] the movie plot of Superman II, in which Superman and Lois Lane work up to a sexual liaison (which was seen before 1960 only in “two by fours” and similar pornographic comic strips.).2008, Barry Schwartz, Abraham Lincoln in the Post-Heroic Era, page 354:
- Derived terms
- clue-by-four
- Related terms
- four by two