Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

double-nickel

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.79 in modern English

Syllables: dou-ble-nick-el
IPA

21

Scrabble Score

12

Letters

4

Syllables

10

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

The national speed limit of 55 miles per hour introduced in the USA in 1974.

American usage; Slang

noun

The number 55 (by extension).

American usage; Slang

verb

To travel at 55 miles per hour.

Example Sentences

"But in 1982 they found a loophole: Keep the double-nickel speed limit, but effectively allow motorists to drive up to 65 by designating that speed a “waste of a finite resource” and setting the fine at $15."
"Peckinpah is just as interested in the old golf-cart codger who says “Damn the double-nickel!” (in reference to the 55mph speed limit) as he is in Duck or Lyle, and much more so than in Ali MacGraw’s character, along for the ride and marquee value."
"This night was insane. Knicks win, Sixers win, Wolves win. Kyrie drops a double-nickel."
"Rose’s EarthCruiser – seven hundred thousand dollars’ worth of imported rolling steel, the best RV money could buy – led the parade. But slowly, just double-nickeling it."

Etymology

From trucker slang in the 1970s referring to the national 55 mph speed limit, based on nickel (“five-cent coin”).

Usage

American usage
Slang

Inflected Forms

double-nickels (plural) double-nickels (present, singular) double-nickeling (US, participle) double-nickelling (UK, participle) double-nickeled (US, participle) double-nickeled (US, past) double-nickelled (UK, participle) double-nickelled (UK, past)

Questions

What does double-nickel mean?: The national speed limit of 55 miles per hour introduced in the USA in 1974.
Where does double-nickel come from?: From trucker slang in the 1970s referring to the national 55 mph speed limit, based on nickel (“five-cent coin”).

How to pronounce double-nickel

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