Dictionary

masterbit en · NOUN

Etymology

From master + bit, modelled after masterpiece.

Meanings

1. (dialectal, humorous) Masterpiece.
   • These Lisley ricks are, as we say in Oxon, a “masterbit” and as much superior to the average rick as a poem to a set of newspaper verses. 1949, Harold John Massingham, Chiltern Country:
   • The young man at once gave his address, and then his name, whereupon the stranger grasped his hand, and said, “That's the masterbit; I used to live next door to yer father, and I ha' nussed you many a time when you wor a nipper.” 1893, Broad Norfolk, page 28:
   • 'See you tomorrow then, Best and Only,' said Opal. 'I'm off to paint a masterbit!' 'Masterpiece, you mean!' squealed Lauren and Lisa in unison, as they whisked Opal away. 2015, Maudie Smith, Opal Moonbaby and the Out of this World Adventure: Book 2:
   • But that there job with that French Count was my masterbit. 1875, Alden's Oxford Magazine, volumes 6-7, page 105:
   • Henley & Whibley's Prose was designed in three vols, would have included all manner of masterbits, in character & narrative, between John of Trevisa2 & Charles Dickens; […] 2016, first published 2000, Damian Atkinson, The Selected Letters of W.E. Henley:
   • And that title song, an impishly dashing waltz for four tenors, remains one of Styne's least appreciated masterbits, truly imaginative writing from this supposed pop tunesmith. 2015, Ethan Mordden, Open a New Window: The Broadway Musical in the 1960s, page 45:

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