bold as brass

English

Etymology

Popularly supposed to have originated in reference to Brass Crosby, Lord Mayor of London in the 1770s, who was bold enough to defy the British parliament. However, this origin theory is dismissed by some as bogus.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

bold as brass

1. (simile) Very bold; very forward or impudent.
   • 1922 February, James Joyce, “[13]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company, […], →OCLC:

     The twins were now playing in the most approved brotherly fashion till at last Master Jacky who was really as bold as brass there was no getting behind that deliberately kicked the ball as hard as ever he could down towards the seaweedy rocks.

   • 1997, James Gardiner, Who's a Pretty Boy Then?, page 123:

     Well, she schlumphed her Vera down the screech at a rate of knots, zhooshed up the riah, checked the slap in the mirror behind the bar, straightened up one ogle fake riah that had come adrift, and bold as brass orderlied over as fast as she could manage in those bats and, in her best lips, asked, if she could parker the omi a bevvy.

   • 2021 March 24, Dr. Joseph Brennan, “Metallic marvels from rail's Iron Age”, in RAIL, number 927, page 57:

     In true Victorian bold-as-brass fashion, passengers often travelled across structures built to span ravines and valleys and bodies of fast-moving water, even as debates rolled on into the safety and suitability of materials used.

   • 2024 April 2, Sarfraz Manzoor, quoting Suzi Ronson, “‘Bowie said he’d sell his soul to be famous’: Suzi Ronson on sex, ruthless ambition – and dyeing David’s hair red”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     “Angie was American, she was tall, cool and as bold as brass,” recalls Ronson. “I couldn’t believe how amazing she was.”

Related terms

• brazen