brummagem

American  

[bruhm-uh-juhm] / ˈbrʌm ə dʒəm /

adjective

1. showy but inferior and worthless.

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noun

1. a showy but inferior and worthless thing.

Brummagem British  

/ ˈbrʌmədʒəm /

noun

1. Often shortened to: Brum.  an informal name for Birmingham

2. (sometimes not capital) something that is cheap and flashy, esp imitation jewellery

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adjective

1. (sometimes not capital) cheap and gaudy; tawdry

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

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

Climax of the whole brummagem business was the "Zoro Gardens."

From Time Magazine Archive

Rosary-like, 202-page addenda to Author-Naturalist Peattie's An Almanac for Moderns, brummagem "classic."

From Time Magazine Archive

I had spent a day in exploring Colombo— visiting Arabi Pasha, inspecting Hindu temples, watching the jugglers and snake-charmers, evading guides and the sellers of brummagem jewellery, and idling in the Cinnamon Gardens.

From Mrs. Falchion, Volume 1. by Parker, Gilbert