brier
1 Americannoun
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a prickly plant or shrub, especially the sweetbrier or a greenbrier.
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a tangled mass of prickly plants.
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a thorny stem or twig.
noun
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the white heath, Erica arborea, of France and Corsica, the woody root of which is used for making tobacco pipes.
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a pipe made of brierroot.
noun
noun
noun
Sensitive Note
This term is usually used with disparaging intent to refer to those white people who migrated north and west from Southern Appalachia throughout the first half of the 20th century. These migrants, mostly from eastern Kentucky and Tennessee, were looking for jobs in southeastern Ohio and other places. Brier has negative connotations similar to words such as hillbilly and redneck . But brier has also been used as a term of self-reference by the migrants themselves and their descendants.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of brier1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English brer, breir, Old English brǣr, brēr; akin to bramble
Origin of brier2
First recorded in 1865–70; earlier bruyer, from French bruyère, Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin brūcāria “field of heather, heath,” from Late Latin brūcus “heath,” from unattested Gaulish broiko- (from Celtic wroiko-, source of Old Irish froech, Welsh grug ) + Latin -āria feminine of Latin noun suffix -arius; see -ary, -er 2, -ar 2
Origin of brier3
First recorded in 1895–1900; shortening of brier breaker, briar breaker, probably a reference to the brier bushes found in Southern Appalachia; see also brier 2 ( def. )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“My attitude is, ‘OK, throw us in that brier patch.
From Washington Times • Dec. 19, 2019
Our favorite writers can lead us into ideological brier patches and ethical thickets.
From New York Times • Feb. 28, 2018
Luckily, baseball has four years to work through this brier patch.
From Washington Post • Feb. 28, 2018
Oh, please don't throw me into the brier patch!
From Seattle Times • Sep. 17, 2010
The father sharpened the butcher knife with the whetstone he used to whet his scythe and his goose-necked brier hook in the summer when he cut brambles and young sumac in the fencerows.
From "Sounder" by William H. Armstrong
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
