four by two - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
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four by two (plural four by twos)
- (Australia, UK, New Zealand) A length of sawn wood of cross section 4 inches by 2 inches, most often employed as structural framing lumber / timber.
1994, Peter Carey, Collected Stories[1], page 206:
She would sit here sometimes, perched on a bag of concrete looking at the big lumps of four by two and imagining what she might do with them if she had a chance.
2009, Joy Dettman, Pearl in a Cage[2], page 110:
He eyed Norman, who was lifting one end of a four-by-two and sighting down it, as his Bendigo uncle had taught him to sight new beams, seeking out the bow.
2010, Glenn Wheatley, Glenn Wheatley: Facing the Music[3], page 109:
I found myself in overalls, work boots, gloves and protective glasses splitting planks of four-by-two and stacking them on pallets. […] From rock star to Rajah of the Radio (Paul Keating′s line) to the ARIA Hall of Fame to being John Farnham′s manager for twenty-five years to a convicted criminal splitting four-by-twos.
- (UK, Australia, military) A cotton cloth 4 inches wide with lines two inches apart, conveniently torn into two inch lengths for cleaning a rifle barrel using a pull through.
- (Cockney rhyming slang) A Jew.
- (length of wood): two by four (US)
- (length of wood): dimensional lumber / dimension lumber (US)
sawn wood of cross section 4" by 2"