brummagem
adjective
showy but inferior and worthless.
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brummagem
American
[bruhm-uh-juhm]
/ ˈbrʌm ə dʒəm /
adjective
noun
Brummagem
British
/ ˈbrʌmədʒəm /
noun
-
Often shortened to: Brum. an informal name for Birmingham
-
(sometimes not capital) something that is cheap and flashy, esp imitation jewellery
adjective
Etymology
Origin of brummagem
First recorded in 1675–85; local variant of Birmingham, England (compare Bromwichham, Bromecham (17th century), Middle English Burmingeham ); originally in allusion to counterfeit coins produced there in the 17th century
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.
See Examples For:
Rosary-like, 202-page addenda to Author-Naturalist Peattie's An Almanac for Moderns, brummagem "classic."
From Time Magazine Archive
More than that, she has lived a life so rich in history that, by comparison, the attractive twentysomethings the Food Network so desperately wants to turn into stars seem like brummagem pretenders.
From Time Magazine Archive
To the feeble hope, ordinarily, of some sort of brummagem Utopia of creature-comforts, characterized by equality of condition, uniformity of life and thought, pervasive state regulation and the obliteration of traditional morality.
From Time Magazine Archive
Theatre needs all the expert make-up and massage that Playwrights Bolton & Maugham know how to apply, all the stage presence and vivacity that Cornelia Otis Skinner brings to the role of the brummagem heroine.
From Time Magazine Archive
They name these brummagem cabarets after Pullman cars.
From The Beautiful and Damned by Fitzgerald, F. Scott (Francis Scott)
An early work of his, "Brummagem," was performed in PNB's 1978 "Summer Inventions" workshop, but he soured on the company after PNB reneged on a promise to provide live music for the piece.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 24, 2012
I dare say they're some Brummagem people—some Fudge family or other—on their travels.
From Beatrice Boville and Other Stories by Ouida
I had met one before once, dressed as a countryman, and talking Brummagem Yorkshire.
From Seven Frozen Sailors by Fenn, George Manville
I’m a recognised Corinthian, too: take my liquor with old Fred, and go round with the Brummagem Bantam and Jack Bosb——....
From The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson, Volume XV by Stevenson, Robert Louis
Billingsgate sways our big swells, Talent plays Brummagem Cad.
From Punch,or The London Charivari, Volume 105, July 22nd, 1893 by Various
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.
