Green’s Dictionary of Slang

four by two adj.

[? standard sizing, thus idea of jobsworth]

(N.Z.) aggressive, tactless.

[NZ]McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 81: four by two The standard timber stud retaining its pre-metric sizing of four inches by two inches, used to describe the blunt approach, eg, ‘Many have objected to Inland Revenue’s four by two way of handling people filing late returns.’ ANZ.