WHY DO WE SAY—?

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 87, 13 April 1933, Page 6

WHY DO WE SAY—?

"HE'S A BRICK."

A Curious meaning attaches to this very common word of English slang. When a person is referred to as "a brick" he is not merely being called a decent' fellow, or even an honest or upright man, although both of these meanings may be attached to the word. "A brick" is someone who has proved himself trustworthy and able to be relied upon in emergencies by his companions. It is a word >vhich is never used lightly, and' denotes extreme confidence in the person to whom it is applied. There is always a note of genuine sincerity in tho voice of the speaker who uses the phrase, particularly when an adjective is added, as in the phrases "he's a regular brick," and "an out-and-out brick." "Halberger's Illustrated Magazine" gives a rather piquant derivation for this phrase. The writer there point's out that, as a brick is "deep red," so a "deep read" man is a brick. A "deep read" man, he goes 011 to say, is a "good man," according to the phraseology of the university, Which is undoubtedly the source from which the word is derived. The proof, which is almost worthy of Euclid, himself, continues: "A,good man is a jolly follow with non-reading men, ergo a jolly fellow is a brick." With all due respect to this opinion, it is probable that the idea of "deep red" was not the only characteristic of a brick that was influential in making this word popular as an expression of esteem for a reliable fellow. The most noticeable feature of most bricks to-day, when so many can hardly be called deep red, is their squareness. This quality was probably one reason for the use of the word. For many years, Englishmen, with people of other countries, have connected straightforwardness and honesty with squareness. • Among the phrases which arose from this generally-accepted connection was "he answered you as square as a brick"; "on the square" was employed to denote the honest manner in which something was done, and in the Army a similar meaning was attached to the popular phrase "square dinkum." It would not be unnatural to presume that this identification of honesty with squareness led —or helped to lead —to the adoption of tho word "brick" in university slang and subsequently among the common people. Charles Dickens keeps -us in touch with the popular language of his. day, and there is a mention of this particular one. It occurs in "David Copperfield," where the great novelist writes: "Steerforth approved of him highly and told us. he was a brick." We are unable to be sure of the extent of its use at. that time, but to-day we do know that it is very widely employed.