Nominal Forms
Infinitive: to goldbrick
Participle: goldbricked
Gerund: goldbricking
Cognates
-
Indicative
Present
| I | goldbrick |
| you | goldbrick |
| he;she;it | goldbricks |
| we | goldbrick |
| you | goldbrick |
| they | goldbrick |
Perfect
| I | have goldbricked |
| you | have goldbricked |
| he;she;it | has goldbricked |
| we | have goldbricked |
| you | have goldbricked |
| they | have goldbricked |
Past
| I | goldbricked |
| you | goldbricked |
| he;she;it | goldbricked |
| we | goldbricked |
| you | goldbricked |
| they | goldbricked |
Pluperfect
| I | had goldbricked |
| you | had goldbricked |
| he;she;it | had goldbricked |
| we | had goldbricked |
| you | had goldbricked |
| they | had goldbricked |
Future
| I | will goldbrick |
| you | will goldbrick |
| he;she;it | will goldbrick |
| we | will goldbrick |
| you | will goldbrick |
| they | will goldbrick |
Future Perfect
| I | will have goldbricked |
| you | will have goldbricked |
| he;she;it | will have goldbricked |
| we | will have goldbricked |
| you | will have goldbricked |
| they | will have goldbricked |
Subjunctive
Present
| I | goldbrick |
| you | goldbrick |
| he;she;it | goldbrick |
| we | goldbrick |
| you | goldbrick |
| they | goldbrick |
Perfect
| I | have goldbricked |
| you | have goldbricked |
| he;she;it | have goldbricked |
| we | have goldbricked |
| you | have goldbricked |
| they | have goldbricked |
Imperfect
| I | goldbricked |
| you | goldbricked |
| he;she;it | goldbricked |
| we | goldbricked |
| you | goldbricked |
| they | goldbricked |
Pluperfect
| I | had goldbricked |
| you | had goldbricked |
| he;she;it | had goldbricked |
| we | had goldbricked |
| you | had goldbricked |
| they | had goldbricked |
Conditional
Present
| I | would goldbrick |
| you | would goldbrick |
| he;she;it | would goldbrick |
| we | would goldbrick |
| you | would goldbrick |
| they | would goldbrick |
Perfect
| I | would have goldbricked |
| you | would have goldbricked |
| he;she;it | would have goldbricked |
| we | would have goldbricked |
| you | would have goldbricked |
| they | would have goldbricked |
Imperative
| you | goldbrick |
| we | Let's goldbrick |
| you | goldbrick |
Verbs conjugated like 'goldbrick'
abandon,
abduct,
abear,
aberr,
abject,
abord,
abort,
abound,
abraid,
abray,
abrook,
abscind,
abscond,
absist,
absorb,
abstain,
abstract,
accend,
accent,
accept, etc. (List truncated at 20 verbs)
Verbs similar to 'goldbrick'
gold-brick,
brick,
broderick,
cold-cock,
coldcock,
debrick,
outtrick,
politick,
rebrick,
roadblock,
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms
- to avoid a duty or responsibility
- blow off, dog, doss, duck, goof off, lollygag, malinger, procrastinate, shirk, slack off, soldier, swing the lead
Additional Information
Phrasal Verbs
Etymology
From gold + brick, originally (1850s) an actual gold ingot or brick, later a swindle that consisted of selling a putative gold brick, which was only coated in gold. The swindle is attested from 1879, the sense “to swindle” is attested 1902, and the sense “to shirk” is attested 1914, popularized as World War I armed forces slang. In early 1900s, used to refer to an unattractive young woman – not pretty, nor able to talk or dance (attested 1903), thence to refer to incompetent enlisted troops at the start of World War I, reinforced by the rank insignia of second lieutenants, which was a gold rectangle.
Sample Sentences
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I'd just as soon goldbrick with malaria as with anything else. [1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 173:]
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He learned to despise the Germans, people he once thought fit to rule the world, but now so craven they ate French dirt for a glass of cheap campagne; he mastered the art of goldbricking. Sitting at his desk, bored and full of hate, he got fat and dreamed of Paris. [1989, Greil Marcus, “The Assault on Notre-Dame”, in Lipstick Traces, Faber & Faber, published 2009:]