Meaning
Flagrant, unembarrassed impudence; the gall to ask for, do, or say something outrageous without a flicker of shame. Chiefly British and informal; most often in 'have a brass neck' or as an exclamation of disbelief at someone's nerve. Informal, conversational, and critical; strong disapproval mixed with grudging amusement at the sheer nerve. Regional use: British English (also Irish; familiar in Australia and New Zealand).
Origin
A compound of two older slang metaphors. 'Brass' has meant effrontery since at least the 17th century - The Phrase Finder cites a 1608 pamphlet line, 'his face is of brasse', and Thomas Fuller's 1642 'his face is of brasse, which may be said either ever or never to blush' - and the simile 'as bold as brass' is first recorded in George Parker's 'Life's Painter' (1789). Why brass became the metal of shamelessness is not known. 'Neck' has meant audacity since the late 19th century in northern English and Scots use ('hard neck'), with Green's Dictionary of Slang collecting citations from 1893. The compound itself is 20th-century: Green's earliest citation for 'brass neck' meaning impudence is the Dundee Evening Telegraph of 21 March 1938 ('Some people would say it was brass neck on behalf of the motorists'), followed by Aberdeen in 1953; Green's marks the adjective 'brass-neck(ed)' as originally military slang. The OED's separate 'brass neck' entry dates from 1681, but that is the literal neck of a brass implement. The anchor's derivation and 20th-century compound date check out.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- a right brass neck
- brass neck it
- brass-necked
- have a brass neck
- what a brass neck
Usage Examples
- He has a brass neck, asking for a loan after what he said about us.
- What a brass neck, phoning in sick from the beach and posting the photos.
- She brass-necked her way through the interview and somehow got the job.