What it means
Used to slag something off as cheap, tatty, or a bit rubbish-looking. You stick it in front of nouns like two-bob suit, two-bob trophy, two-bob outfit when you mean it looks low-grade and naff, not just inexpensive. It comes from pre-decimal money, where two bob meant two shillings, so the idea is that the thing looks worth next to nothing.
Usage examples
"He rocked up in a two-bob suit from Vinnies and the bouncer clocked it straight away. Looked like it came free with a servo pie."
"The trophy looked dead two-bob, like a plastic cup someone sprayed gold the night before."
"It's a two-bob umbrella, one gust of wind and it turned inside out for good."
"That fake marble coffee table looks proper two-bob, like it arrived flat-packed from a closing-down sale."
"Don't book that two-bob DJ again, mate. Bloke spent half the night fighting with his own aux cable."
Where it comes from
It comes straight out of old British money. A bob was a shilling, so two bob meant two shillings, not much at all. From that, two-bob grew into a sneery little label for stuff that looks cheap, tatty, flimsy, or a bit bargain-bin tragic, especially in British and Australian English.
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