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piece noun A distance, usually a short or indefinite one. [OED labels this usage "chiefly dialect"; EDD labels it "Scotland, northern England" in the late-19th century; DARE labels it "chiefly South, Midland, Texas" in the U.S.]

c1841 Shane (in 1998 Perkins Border Life 199) The indians took him off a piece, but found he could not travel. 1863 Chapman CW Letters (Aug 12) it is not as far as some have been but i call it a good piece off. 1910 Cooke Power and Glory 123 I wish't you’d walk a piece up the Gap road with me. 1934 Parke Sthn Highlander 8 The roadster groaned into motion as we wondered how many miles we could figure “a right smart piece” to be. A few miles and a few thousand jolts further a lone mountain man dressed in worn overalls and without shoes answered our inquiry by saying, “Around yon bend is the ho-ootel.” 1973 GSMNP-76:3 He'd have went up the road a piece to get on the main road that went to Townsend. 2007 Homan Turkey Tracks 86, 87 Based upon the folks I talked to—an admittedly small and much older than average sample—I compiled five alternative measures of Appalachian distance. The smallest component was tater chunk, as in “you’re real close, it’s just another tater chunk down the road.” Following tater chunk in progression were yonder, hoot and a holler, a piece, and a fer piece ... A piece and a fer piece expand and contract with the situation; they have fluid parameters, low and high ranges, an easy piece or a good piece. A walked piece is shorter than a driven one.