Make Your Point > Archived Issues > GOLDBRICK

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explore the archives: To goldbrick is to shirk or coast: to just barely do the work you've been assigned, do it half-heartedly, or pretend like you're doing it. That might remind you of m_____er, the verb meaning "to fake like you're sick so you don't have to do your work." make your point with... "GOLDBRICK" To goldbrick is to lazily avoid doing your work, and to goldbrick people is to cheat them or swindle them. A goldbrick is either a lazy, worthless person or a worthless item that just looks like it should be valuable. Pronunciation: GOLD brick Part of speech: For the first meaning, "to lazily avoid doing your work," "goldbrick" is an intransitive verb.  For the second, "to cheat people or swindle them," "goldbrick" is a transitive verb. And for the third, "a worthless item or a lazy person," "goldbrick" is a countable noun. Other forms: Goldbricks, goldbricked, goldbricking, goldbricker(s). Some prefer a hyphen in all these terms: "gold-brick," "gold-bricking," etc. How to use it: "Goldbrick" as a synonym for "swindle" has been around since the 1850's, but World War I soldiers gave it that other meaning of "shirk; loaf." Just like a con artist who tries to sell you a golden brick, a goldbrick (or goldbricker) tries to make it look like she's doing all of her work... but nobody's buying it! So, talk about that one student or employee who always goldbricks or gets caught goldbricking. You might have teachers or managers who assume everyone will resort to goldbricking if they're not constantly watched. Or you might talk about how common and troublesome goldbricking is at your school or your job, or talk about ways to prevent or monitor goldbricking. You can also just call someone a goldbrick (or a goldbricker), but I wouldn't. It's not nice. examples: Kids these days can goldbrick their way through literature classes with SparkNotes.com, but back in the day we had to convince our parents to let us buy paper copies of CliffsNotes. In my senior year of high school, the restaurant I worked in had this obnoxious slogan for the employees: "If you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean." I guess management assumed we were all goldbrickers. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "goldbrick" means when you can explain it without saying "slacker" or "lazy shirker." try it out: Think of a task you hate, and fill in the blanks: "I'm a hard worker when it comes to (doing some particular task), but when I have to (do a particular one I hate), suddenly I'm a goldbricker." Example: "I was a hard worker when it came to interacting with customers, but when I had to clean all the tiny vegetable remains from the giant slicer thing, suddenly I was a goldbricker." before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Well-Named Creatures: Some names for animals and other creatures define themselves instantly or after a brief moment’s thought: anteater, grasshopper, hummingbird, seahorse, octopus (eight-foot). But other names deserve some exploration; they hold hidden clues about what the animals look like or what they do. And sometimes the names reveal how baffled people were when they first caught a glimpse of the creatures and tried to name them. This month, I’ll give you the literal meaning of a creature's name, and you come up with what it is. Answers will appear in alphabetical order this month. (Oh, and the answers might be animals, birds, insects, or even extinct creatures.) Enjoy! From yesterday: The word history is a little iffy with this one, but a "leaper" who lives in water is a s______. Answer: It's a salmon, whose name comes from Latin and is probably related to our word salient. Try this one today: A "little shadow-tailed" creature is a s______. review today's word: 1. One opposite of GOLDBRICK is A. LABOR ASSIDUOUSLY B. WORK CREATIVELY C. PLAN WISELY 2.  For _____, she'd earned a reputation as the camp goldbricker. A. willingly teaching the boring classes no one else wanted B. making up her own crazy stunts to perform on water skis C. being conveniently absent during morning clean-up of the cabin Answers are below. a final word: To be a sponsor and send your own message to readers of this list, please contact Liesl at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: Word meanings presented here are expressed in plain language and are limited to common, useful applications only. Readers interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words are encouraged to check a dictionary. Likewise, word meanings, usage, and pronunciations are limited to American English; these elements may vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. A 2. C