What is "two-up"

a. (context of a printed document English) Having two document pages per printed page. adv. (context manner of travel on a motorcycle English) With two people aboard. alt. (context Australia New Zealand games English) A game of chance, played by betting on the outcome of two penny thrown in the air. n. (context Australia New Zealand games English) A game of chance, played by betting on the outcome of two penny thrown in the air.

Two-up is a traditional Australian gambling game, involving a designated "spinner" throwing two coins or pennies into the air. Players gamble on whether the coins will fall with both heads (obverse) up, both tails (reverse) up, or with one coin a head and one a tail (known as "odds"). It is traditionally played on Anzac Day in pubs and clubs throughout Australia, in part to mark a shared experience with diggers through the ages.

The game is traditionally played with pennies – their weight, size, and surface design make them ideal for the game. Weight and size make them stable on the "kip" and easy to spin in the air. Decimal coins are generally considered to be too small and light and they don't fly so well. The design of pre-1939 pennies had the sovereign's head on the obverse (front) and the reverse was totally covered in writing making the result very easy and quick to see. Pennies can often be observed being used at games on Anzac Day, as they are brought out specifically for this purpose each year.