Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
#93128 01/23/03 06:17 PM
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 24
B
beanie Offline OP
stranger
OP Offline
stranger
B
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 24
When my father felt someone was lazy, he'd say they weren't "work brickle." Has anyone else ever heard this expression, and if so, what is its derivation?


#93129 01/23/03 06:34 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Etymology: Middle English brekyl, brickyll, brukyl fragile, weak,
brittle, probably from Old English -brucol (as in [AE]brucol
sacrilegious, onbrucol rugged, scipbrucol causing shipwreck), from
brecan to break -- more at BREAK
dialect : BRITTLE
©W3

so, work brittle: think Maynard G. Krebs (work!!)

but is this just opposite of your father's usage?

#93130 01/23/03 06:40 PM
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 11,613
That makes sense, beanie--think of butter brickle! And welcome aBoard!


beanie #212349 08/31/13 02:48 AM
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 1
C
stranger
Offline
stranger
C
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 1
I just found this site when looking up a term used by a friend of a friend years ago, "brigglin". When asked what he was doing, he would say, "Just brigglin." The one who used it is dead, so there is no way to verify the meaning, as used by him, and my friend thought it might be from the French word "bricoler", which means "to putter", or to not work very hard. Could it have traveled up the Mississippi from French Louisiana to the state of Iowa? My friend is going to ask the deceased friend's wife what his ethnicity was.

Last edited by chigger; 08/31/13 02:55 AM.
chigger #212350 08/31/13 05:40 AM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
this is probly just some sort of coincidence, but there was a style of pottery called Briglin; thus Briglin pottering.
cool

beanie #212677 10/01/13 07:48 AM
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 5
W
stranger
Offline
stranger
W
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 5
That makes sense


Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,283
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 302 guests, and 2 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,510
LukeJavan8 9,916
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5