from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Brick \Brick\ (br[i^]k), n. [OE. brik, F. brique; of Ger.
origin; cf. AS. brice a breaking, fragment, Prov. E. brique
piece, brique de pain, equiv. to AS. hl[=a]fes brice, fr. the
root of E. break. See {Break}.]
1. A block or clay tempered with water, sand, etc., molded
into a regular form, usually rectangular, and sun-dried,
or burnt in a kiln, or in a heap or stack called a clamp.
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The Assyrians appear to have made much less use of
bricks baked in the furnace than the Babylonians.
--Layard.
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2. Bricks, collectively, as designating that kind of
material; as, a load of brick; a thousand of brick.
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Some of Palladio's finest examples are of brick.
--Weale.
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3. Any oblong rectangular mass; as, a brick of maple sugar; a
penny brick (of bread).
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4. A good fellow; a merry person; as, you 're a brick.
[Slang] "He 's a dear little brick." --Thackeray.
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{To have a brick in one's hat}, to be drunk. [Slang]
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Note: Brick is used adjectively or in combination; as, brick
wall; brick clay; brick color; brick red.
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{Brick clay}, clay suitable for, or used in making, bricks.
{Brick dust}, dust of pounded or broken bricks.
{Brick earth}, clay or earth suitable for, or used in making,
bricks.
{Brick loaf}, a loaf of bread somewhat resembling a brick in
shape.
{Brick nogging} (Arch.), rough brickwork used to fill in the
spaces between the uprights of a wooden partition; brick
filling.
{Brick tea}, tea leaves and young shoots, or refuse tea,
steamed or mixed with fat, etc., and pressed into the form
of bricks. It is used in Northern and Central Asia. --S.
W. Williams.
{Brick trimmer} (Arch.), a brick arch under a hearth, usually
within the thickness of a wooden floor, to guard against
accidents by fire.
{Brick trowel}. See {Trowel}.
{Brick works}, a place where bricks are made.
{Bath brick}. See under {Bath}, a city.
{Pressed brick}, bricks which, before burning, have been
subjected to pressure, to free them from the imperfections
of shape and texture which are common in molded bricks.
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