Double-nickel
noun, verb, slang ·Uncommon ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The national speed limit of 55 miles per hour introduced in the USA in 1974. US, slang
"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."
- 2 The number 55 (by extension). US, slang
"This night was insane. Knicks win, Sixers win, Wolves win. Kyrie drops a double-nickel."
- 1 To travel at 55 miles per hour.
"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."
Example
More examples"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."
Etymology
From trucker slang in the 1970s referring to the national 55 mph speed limit, based on nickel (“five-cent coin”).
More for "double-nickel"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.