two cent plain
1.Noun, archaic. Plain club soda or selzer.
2.Nown, A term combining frugality and nostalgia. Often associated with Jews since Milton Berle coined the term "for two cents plain."
2.Nown, A term combining frugality and nostalgia. Often associated with Jews since Milton Berle coined the term "for two cents plain."
1. Ol' Billy was the worst sort of customer; he'd order a two cent plain and hassel the ladies all night.
2. For Sal, the plan to build more hydroelectric dams was two cents plain.
2. For Sal, the plan to build more hydroelectric dams was two cents plain.
a two cents plain
A two cents plain is a glass of seltzer water. During the Great Depression, one could get an egg cream for twenty-five cents (seltzer, chocolate syrup, and milk), a chocolate milk (milk and chocolate syrup) for a dime, a chocolate soda (seltzer and chocolate syrup) for a nickel, or plain seltzer water for two cents. Two cents plain.
I'll have an egg cream for my lovely date, and I'll take a two cents plain.