twofern.
/ˈtuːfə/ U.S. colloquial.
1. A cigar sold at two for a quarter; hence, any cheap cigar.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > thing which may be smoked > cigar or cheroot > cigar > type of
Bermuda?a1641
Havana1802
regalia1819
long nine1821
short-six1831
loco-foco1835
Cuba1837
cabana1840
panatela1841
Habanero1845
pickwick1847
colorado maduro1851
colorado1854
colorado claro1854
maduro1854
Henry Clay1855
Trichinopoli chain1863
trichi1877
perfecto1884
claro1891
toby1894
twofera1911
Jamaican1919
a1911 D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox in Hearst's Mag. (1916) Feb. 138/3 He smoked five-cent cigars instead of ‘two-furs’.
1922 S. Lewis Babbitt v. 63 ‘I do like decent cigars—not those Flor de Cabagos you're smoking——’ ‘That's all right now! That's a good two-for.’
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves xiii. 143 I found him..lying on the bed with his feet on the rail, smoking a toofah.
1943 Sun (Baltimore) 3 Feb. 24/6 The latest items on the list of wartime shortages are the ‘toofer’, the ‘nickel cigar’ and the ‘10-center’.
2.
a. A coupon that entitles a person to buy two tickets for a specified theatre show for the price of one.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > paper money > promissory notes or bills of exchange > [noun] > coupon > specific kind of
cigarette coupon1906
petrol coupon1919
twofer1948
1948 N.Y. Herald Tribune 9 Aug. 8/1 Twofers, as they are called in the slang of the trade, entitle the holder to two seats for a given show for the price of one.
1959 P. Bull I know Face iii. 56 It was a constant embarrassment to me to watch a nice customer..buy two expensive stalls for 27s., only to be followed by a ‘twofer’ lady who got the same thing for 13s. 6d.
1971 It 2 June 11/3 Me and the missus got twofers for the show.
1982 Eastern Province Herald (Port Elizabeth) 5 Aug. 17/2 Twofers are usually available only for near-to-flop shows or those looking tatty after a long run.
b. transferred; also spec. a black woman appointed to a post, the appointment being seen as evidence of both racial and sexual equality of opportunity.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > [noun] > person appointed to office or position > black woman
twofer1969
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [noun] > comprising two or three pieces
two-piecec1880
three-piece1931
three-piecer1964
twofer1969
1969 Britannica Bk. of Year (U.S.) 801/1 Twofer, specif., a blazer with matching trousers.
1977 Time 3 Jan. 36/1 By appointing her, Carter got a kind of ‘twofer’: as a black and as a woman, she is proof that the President-elect is trying to open his Cabinet to both groups.
1978 N.Y. Times 29 Mar. a11/2 (advt.) Another terrific two-for. This sun dress..becomes city-smart when you float the boxy jacket over it.
1979 Daily Tel. 2 June 10 Personnel departments [in the United States] are told always to try and hire a ‘toofer’.
1982 Record Business 11 Jan. 2/1 Ian Miles..had best-sellers with..a Wout Steenhuis twofer and a Harry Secombe-Moira Anderson album of duets.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1986; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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n.a1911