Definition

1. Noun:

   • A worthless or fraudulent item: Something presented as valuable but actually being fake or of poor quality.
   • A lazy or incompetent person: An individual who avoids work or is generally idle and unproductive.
   • A shirking soldier: Specifically, a soldier who neglects or performs duties carelessly.

2. Verb:

   • To shirk or avoid responsibilities: To evade assigned duties or work.
   • To swindle or defraud: To cheat someone out of something, typically money or valuables.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:

  • That investment turned out to be a complete goldbrick. (That investment was revealed to be completely worthless.)
  • Don't be such a goldbrick; we have work to do! (Don't be so lazy; we have tasks to complete.)
  • The sergeant disciplined the goldbrick for neglecting his post. (The sergeant punished the soldier for shirking his guard duty.)

• Verb:

  • He tried to goldbrick his way through the assignment. (He tried to avoid doing the real work of the assignment.)
  • The contractor goldbricked the elderly couple out of their savings. (The contractor swindled the elderly couple, taking their savings.)

Advanced Usage

• The term goldbrick originated in the late 19th century, referring to a brick of metal painted to look like gold, used in swindles. Its meanings evolved metaphorically to describe a person who is a "fake" in terms of effort or a soldier who shirks duty, especially during World War II.
• As a verb, it can imply a specific style of evasion that involves pretending to work or be busy while actually doing nothing.

Variants and Related Words

• Goldbricking (n): The act of shirking duty or avoiding work.
  • The manager was fired for chronic goldbricking.
• Goldbricker (n): A person who goldbricks.
  • The team had to pick up the slack for the goldbricker.

Synonyms

• Noun (for person): slacker, idler, shirker, loafer.
• Noun (for item): sham, fake, fraud, counterfeit.
• Verb (to shirk): shirk, malinger, slack off, evade.
• Verb (to swindle): swindle, defraud, cheat, con, fleece.

Related Phrasal Verbs/Constructions

• To goldbrick on (someone): To shirk duties that another person must then complete. (Note: This is a less common, contextual use based on the verb's core meaning).
  • He's always goldbricking on his teammates, leaving them with extra work.

Related Idioms

• While there is no common idiom using the exact word goldbrick, the concept is central to idioms like:
  • To shirk one's duty: To avoid one's responsibility.
  • A wolf in sheep's clothing: Someone or something dangerous that appears harmless or valuable (related to the "fraudulent item" sense).

Noun

1. anything that is supposed to be valuable but turns out to be worthless
2. a brick-shaped block that looks like gold but is not
3. an idle worthless person
4. a soldier who performs his duties without proper care or effort

Verb

1. avoid (one's assigned duties)
   • The derelict soldier shirked his duties
2. deprive of by deceit
   • He swindled me out of my inheritance
   • She defrauded the customers who trusted her
   • the cashier gypped me when he gave me too little change