brick walln.¹

Brit.

/ˌbrɪk ˈwɔːl/, U.S.

/ˌbrɪk ˈwɔl/

Forms: see brick n.¹ and adj.¹ and wall n.¹

Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: brick adj.¹, wall n.¹

Etymology: < brick adj.¹ + wall n.¹

1. A wall built of bricks.Often written as one word, brickwall, or with hyphen, especially in early use.See quot. ?1440 at brick adj.¹ 1 for a slightly earlier use of wallis bricke, with the adjective in postmodifying position.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > wall > other types of wall

sidewall1381

brick wall1465

outwall1535

parpen1591

parapet1598

inwall?1611

breastwork1673

parapet wall1682

dwarf1718

screen1761

screen wall1770

hollow wall1823

alure1853

curtain wall1859

core-wall1899

blank wall1904

1465–6 Plea & Mem. Rolls London Guildhall No. A.87. m. 5 (MED) A brikwall closyng in the Chapell.

a1475 (a1447) O. Bokenham Mappula Angliae in Englische Studien (1887) 10 18 Enviround abowte with bryke wallis.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Kings iii. 25 There remayned but the stones in the brickwall.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 790 Set against a Brick-wall .

1662 W. Dugdale Hist. Imbanking & Drayning Fens xlvi. 281 Tirington..was very ingeniously fortified..with two mighty Brick Walls.

1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Brick Brick-walls are also found warmer and wholesomer than those of free-stone and marble.

1802 J. Farington Diary 30 Aug. (1923) II. ii. 6 The Houses are of Stone or Plaister which is a better colour than the English brick walls.

1841 Graham's Mag. July 1/1 Let us go out into the country, away from the stifling air and dull brick walls of the town.

1933 V. Brittain Test. of Youth ii. 68 We were practising tennis strokes against a brick wall in our circumscribed back yard one afternoon.

1981 Antiquaries Jrnl. 61 i. 29 Though the sweeping lawns, the groves of rare trees and the shrubberies..are gone, there still can be seen the remains of 12 ft. high brick walls.

2014 Church Times 30 May 40/3 Back home, the white cat sits where we left her, on the disintegrating brick wall.

2. figurative and in figurative contexts. An obstacle or obstruction; an insurmountable problem. See also to hit a brick wall at Phrases 4.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > [noun] > one who or that which hinders > a hindrance, impediment, or obstacle > insurmountable or impenetrable

brick wall1571

firewall1578

iron curtain1819

blank wall1904

Chinese wall1907

1571 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Poore Mans Garden To Rdr. sig. B.1 He neither hath walled it [sc. a garden, i.e. the spiritual guidance set forth in the text] about with great Bricke walles, nor hedged it about with quick thornes.

1880 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 623 He began to show signs of swerving towards a by-path of doctrine, at the end of which there was, so to speak, a palpable brick-wall.

1898 Westm. Gaz. 19 July 1/2 We have been putting this dilemma to Liberals and Irish and the answers which we have obtained from both have brought us to what we have called the ‘Irish brick-wall’.

1943 Documentary News Let. Apr. 207/3 I know the difficulties which a director of natural types..often so brilliantly overcomes. I am dismayed because I think that this path can end in a brick wall.

1963 A. Smith Throw out Two Hands iii. 36 A chain reaction followed of other similarly frustrating brick walls.

1990 Which? Dec. 698/3 A lawyer's letter..may be the final push to show you really mean business. But if the brick wall still remains your options are: Court.., Arbitration.., [etc.].

Phrases

P1. to bang (also run, bash, etc.) one's head against a brick wall and variants: to engage in a futile or fruitless effort; to be continually rebuffed, thwarted, or frustrated. Also in similes and comparisons characterizing an endeavour as futile or frustrating.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > be of no avail [verb (intransitive)] > expend effort on something futile

to shoe the goose14..

to send (also carry, etc.) owls to Athens1548

to break, crush, a fly upon the wheel1606

to carry coals to Newcastlea1614

to bang (also run, bash, etc.) one's head against a brick wall1689

to preach to the converted1857

to be on a hiding to nothing1905

to chase one's tail1963

1689 W. Denton Jus Regiminis xi. 60 Men will be wiser than to run their Heads against Brick Walls.

1704 T. Brown Looking-glass for Married People in tr. L. de Gaya Marriage Ceremonies (ed. 3) 147 I soon became sensible that a married Man had as good run his head against a Brick Wall, as engage with a Woman in her own Element of Scolding.

1840 Musical World 30 Jan. 70 To endeavour to restore these hymns, during their performance, would be like knocking your head against a brick wall: you would only hurt yourself by it.

1924 Times 8 Oct. 6/3 The great man himself preserved a grand and stoical calm, and tried and tried again, but he was battering his head against a brick wall.

1983 Times 22 July 19/5 His enthusiasm has not been affected by bashing his head against the proverbial brick wall.

2008 S. Turvey Witness to Extinction (2009) v. 107 I was exhausted by all of the paperwork,..and the dismissive attitudes that I met from all sides. It was like banging my head against a brick wall.

P2. to see through a brick wall (also to see through brick walls): to have extraordinary powers of perception. Also in similes and comparisons with reference to a person's powers of perception.

ΚΠ

1841 Fraser's Mag. July 40 He was the best pal to do business with without a glim [i.e. a light] I ever knowed. He could almost see through a brick wall.

1862 H. Kingsley Ravenshoe II. ix. 80 He could see through a brick wall as well as most men.

1936 L. A. G. Strong Last Enemy 309 You're a bit second-sighted, aren't you? I mean you see farther through a brick wall than most?

1968 G. Butler Coffin Following ii. 58 You still look as if you could see through a brick wall.

2015 T. Arlen Death of Dishonorable Gentleman xxiii. 231 Mrs. Jackson knew the lower servants joked that she could see through brick walls, and now Elsie would no doubt believe it to be fact.

P3. to talk to a brick wall: to engage in a futile effort to persuade, influence, or reason with a resistant or unresponsive interlocutor. Also in similes and comparisons (esp. with might as well) characterizing such an effort as futile or frustrating.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > be of no avail [verb (intransitive)] > expend effort in vain > speak in vain

to waste breathc1540

to waste (one's) breath1572

to talk to a brick wall1873

1873 J. B. Waring Rec. Thoughts II. 157 What is the use of arguing, or of being angry with people who choose to believe silly things? You might as well talk to a brick wall, or contend with a donkey.

1893 O. Wilde Lady Windermere's Fan iii. 97 Dumby It's no use talking to Tuppy. You might just as well talk to a brick wall. Cecil Graham But I like talking to a brick wall—it's the only thing in the world that never contradicts me!

1914 Times 29 July 9 As far as persuading each other or altering their own convictions they might as well have been talking to a brick wall.

1955 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 15 Jan. 163/2 The process of attempting to reassure a patient by sympathetic explanation is extremely exhausting for a conscientious consultant when he knows he is talking to a ‘brick wall’.

2018 Daily Mail (Nexis) 16 Aug. Helen says it's like talking to a brick wall. ‘They won't listen. They won't look again at the science.’

P4. to hit (also run into, run up against, etc.) a brick wall and variants: to be confronted by an insurmountable problem or obstacle; to be thwarted, obstructed, or brought to a halt.

ΚΠ

1907 N.Y. Times 6 Aug. 2/1 The District Attorney's office and Mr. Rosenberg started an investigation into the alleged forgery, but ran up against a brick wall at every turn.

1947 Scotsman 19 Nov. 5/4 His proposals for price control and consumer rationing have run into trouble—it might almost be said to have run into a brick wall.

2007 Independent 28 Aug. (Extra section) 10/4 Where I used to hit a brick wall at work, I can now reach solutions much more clearly.

Compounds

attributive, with the sense ‘of or relating to a brick wall or walls’.

ΚΠ

1730 Fog's Weekly Jrnl. 14 Mar. (advt.) To be lett,..a very good Brick-Wall House.

?1775 Pleasant Compan. 96 (heading) An Extract of a letter from over against the Brickwall-Gate, near the Common Sewer.

1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 771 That never pass their brick-wall bounds.

1849 Jackson's Oxf. Jrnl. 28 July 1/4 (advt.) A large and very productive garden..with good brick wall fence.

1908 Times 23 Sept. 4/1 These military gates..are brick-wall structures, with an arched opening for heavy wooden doors.

1974 Leonardo 7 82/1 A few of the drawings are very simple, for example a square grid or a standard brick-wall pattern.

2009 J. LaBrecque Ripped! i. 8 ‘My very own lemon tree,’ Eden nodded toward her pride and joy in the corner of the courtyard's brick wall confines.

Derivatives

ˌbrick-ˈwalled adj. enclosed by a brick wall or walls; having brick walls.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > wall of building > [adjective] > having brick walls

brick-walled1647

1647 R. Stapleton tr. Juvenal Sixteen Satyrs x. 184 Brick-wall'd Babilon.

1801 Maryland Gaz. 23 July The improvements are, a dwelling-house 44 by 20 feet, 2 rooms and a passage on each floor, with a brick walled cellar under half.

1874 Inter Ocean (Chicago) 30 Dec. 4/6 The progress of the flames was stopped by a strong, brick-walled building.

1964 Afr. Today 11 5/2 Lenny is now ensconced in a brick-walled apartment on the Lower East Side.

2006 P. Bensley Climbers & Wall Plants 50/1 Climbers and ramblers galore run riot in this delightful brick-walled garden.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

单词	brick wall
释义	brick walln.¹ Brit. /ˌbrɪk ˈwɔːl/, U.S. /ˌbrɪk ˈwɔl/ Forms: see brick n.¹ and adj.¹ and wall n.¹ Origin: Formed within English, by compounding. Etymons: brick adj.¹, wall n.¹ Etymology: < brick adj.¹ + wall n.¹ 1. A wall built of bricks.Often written as one word, brickwall, or with hyphen, especially in early use.See quot. ?1440 at brick adj.¹ 1 for a slightly earlier use of wallis bricke, with the adjective in postmodifying position. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > wall > other types of wall sidewall1381 brick wall1465 outwall1535 parpen1591 parapet1598 inwall?1611 breastwork1673 parapet wall1682 dwarf1718 screen1761 screen wall1770 hollow wall1823 alure1853 curtain wall1859 core-wall1899 blank wall1904 1465–6 Plea & Mem. Rolls London Guildhall No. A.87. m. 5 (MED) A brikwall closyng in the Chapell. a1475 (a1447) O. Bokenham Mappula Angliae in Englische Studien (1887) 10 18 Enviround abowte with bryke wallis. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Kings iii. 25 There remayned but the stones in the brickwall. a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) iv. iv. 790 Set against a Brick-wall . View more context for this quotation 1662 W. Dugdale Hist. Imbanking & Drayning Fens xlvi. 281 Tirington..was very ingeniously fortified..with two mighty Brick Walls. 1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. at Brick Brick-walls are also found warmer and wholesomer than those of free-stone and marble. 1802 J. Farington Diary 30 Aug. (1923) II. ii. 6 The Houses are of Stone or Plaister which is a better colour than the English brick walls. 1841 Graham's Mag. July 1/1 Let us go out into the country, away from the stifling air and dull brick walls of the town. 1933 V. Brittain Test. of Youth ii. 68 We were practising tennis strokes against a brick wall in our circumscribed back yard one afternoon. 1981 Antiquaries Jrnl. 61 i. 29 Though the sweeping lawns, the groves of rare trees and the shrubberies..are gone, there still can be seen the remains of 12 ft. high brick walls. 2014 Church Times 30 May 40/3 Back home, the white cat sits where we left her, on the disintegrating brick wall. 2. figurative and in figurative contexts. An obstacle or obstruction; an insurmountable problem. See also to hit a brick wall at Phrases 4. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > [noun] > one who or that which hinders > a hindrance, impediment, or obstacle > insurmountable or impenetrable brick wall1571 firewall1578 iron curtain1819 blank wall1904 Chinese wall1907 1571 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Poore Mans Garden To Rdr. sig. B.1 He neither hath walled it [sc. a garden, i.e. the spiritual guidance set forth in the text] about with great Bricke walles, nor hedged it about with quick thornes. 1880 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 623 He began to show signs of swerving towards a by-path of doctrine, at the end of which there was, so to speak, a palpable brick-wall. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 19 July 1/2 We have been putting this dilemma to Liberals and Irish and the answers which we have obtained from both have brought us to what we have called the ‘Irish brick-wall’. 1943 Documentary News Let. Apr. 207/3 I know the difficulties which a director of natural types..often so brilliantly overcomes. I am dismayed because I think that this path can end in a brick wall. 1963 A. Smith Throw out Two Hands iii. 36 A chain reaction followed of other similarly frustrating brick walls. 1990 Which? Dec. 698/3 A lawyer's letter..may be the final push to show you really mean business. But if the brick wall still remains your options are: Court.., Arbitration.., [etc.]. Phrases P1. to bang (also run, bash, etc.) one's head against a brick wall and variants: to engage in a futile or fruitless effort; to be continually rebuffed, thwarted, or frustrated. Also in similes and comparisons characterizing an endeavour as futile or frustrating. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > be of no avail [verb (intransitive)] > expend effort on something futile to shoe the goose14.. to send (also carry, etc.) owls to Athens1548 to break, crush, a fly upon the wheel1606 to carry coals to Newcastlea1614 to bang (also run, bash, etc.) one's head against a brick wall1689 to preach to the converted1857 to be on a hiding to nothing1905 to chase one's tail1963 1689 W. Denton Jus Regiminis xi. 60 Men will be wiser than to run their Heads against Brick Walls. 1704 T. Brown Looking-glass for Married People in tr. L. de Gaya Marriage Ceremonies (ed. 3) 147 I soon became sensible that a married Man had as good run his head against a Brick Wall, as engage with a Woman in her own Element of Scolding. 1840 Musical World 30 Jan. 70 To endeavour to restore these hymns, during their performance, would be like knocking your head against a brick wall: you would only hurt yourself by it. 1924 Times 8 Oct. 6/3 The great man himself preserved a grand and stoical calm, and tried and tried again, but he was battering his head against a brick wall. 1983 Times 22 July 19/5 His enthusiasm has not been affected by bashing his head against the proverbial brick wall. 2008 S. Turvey Witness to Extinction (2009) v. 107 I was exhausted by all of the paperwork,..and the dismissive attitudes that I met from all sides. It was like banging my head against a brick wall. P2. to see through a brick wall (also to see through brick walls): to have extraordinary powers of perception. Also in similes and comparisons with reference to a person's powers of perception. ΚΠ 1841 Fraser's Mag. July 40 He was the best pal to do business with without a glim [i.e. a light] I ever knowed. He could almost see through a brick wall. 1862 H. Kingsley Ravenshoe II. ix. 80 He could see through a brick wall as well as most men. 1936 L. A. G. Strong Last Enemy 309 You're a bit second-sighted, aren't you? I mean you see farther through a brick wall than most? 1968 G. Butler Coffin Following ii. 58 You still look as if you could see through a brick wall. 2015 T. Arlen Death of Dishonorable Gentleman xxiii. 231 Mrs. Jackson knew the lower servants joked that she could see through brick walls, and now Elsie would no doubt believe it to be fact. P3. to talk to a brick wall: to engage in a futile effort to persuade, influence, or reason with a resistant or unresponsive interlocutor. Also in similes and comparisons (esp. with might as well) characterizing such an effort as futile or frustrating. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > be of no avail [verb (intransitive)] > expend effort in vain > speak in vain to waste breathc1540 to waste (one's) breath1572 to talk to a brick wall1873 1873 J. B. Waring Rec. Thoughts II. 157 What is the use of arguing, or of being angry with people who choose to believe silly things? You might as well talk to a brick wall, or contend with a donkey. 1893 O. Wilde Lady Windermere's Fan iii. 97 Dumby It's no use talking to Tuppy. You might just as well talk to a brick wall. Cecil Graham But I like talking to a brick wall—it's the only thing in the world that never contradicts me! 1914 Times 29 July 9 As far as persuading each other or altering their own convictions they might as well have been talking to a brick wall. 1955 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 15 Jan. 163/2 The process of attempting to reassure a patient by sympathetic explanation is extremely exhausting for a conscientious consultant when he knows he is talking to a ‘brick wall’. 2018 Daily Mail (Nexis) 16 Aug. Helen says it's like talking to a brick wall. ‘They won't listen. They won't look again at the science.’ P4. to hit (also run into, run up against, etc.) a brick wall and variants: to be confronted by an insurmountable problem or obstacle; to be thwarted, obstructed, or brought to a halt. ΚΠ 1907 N.Y. Times 6 Aug. 2/1 The District Attorney's office and Mr. Rosenberg started an investigation into the alleged forgery, but ran up against a brick wall at every turn. 1947 Scotsman 19 Nov. 5/4 His proposals for price control and consumer rationing have run into trouble—it might almost be said to have run into a brick wall. 2007 Independent 28 Aug. (Extra section) 10/4 Where I used to hit a brick wall at work, I can now reach solutions much more clearly. Compounds attributive, with the sense ‘of or relating to a brick wall or walls’. ΚΠ 1730 Fog's Weekly Jrnl. 14 Mar. (advt.) To be lett,..a very good Brick-Wall House. ?1775 Pleasant Compan. 96 (heading) An Extract of a letter from over against the Brickwall-Gate, near the Common Sewer. 1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 771 That never pass their brick-wall bounds. 1849 Jackson's Oxf. Jrnl. 28 July 1/4 (advt.) A large and very productive garden..with good brick wall fence. 1908 Times 23 Sept. 4/1 These military gates..are brick-wall structures, with an arched opening for heavy wooden doors. 1974 Leonardo 7 82/1 A few of the drawings are very simple, for example a square grid or a standard brick-wall pattern. 2009 J. LaBrecque Ripped! i. 8 ‘My very own lemon tree,’ Eden nodded toward her pride and joy in the corner of the courtyard's brick wall confines. Derivatives ˌbrick-ˈwalled adj. enclosed by a brick wall or walls; having brick walls. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > wall of building > [adjective] > having brick walls brick-walled1647 1647 R. Stapleton tr. Juvenal Sixteen Satyrs x. 184 Brick-wall'd Babilon. 1801 Maryland Gaz. 23 July The improvements are, a dwelling-house 44 by 20 feet, 2 rooms and a passage on each floor, with a brick walled cellar under half. 1874 Inter Ocean (Chicago) 30 Dec. 4/6 The progress of the flames was stopped by a strong, brick-walled building. 1964 Afr. Today 11 5/2 Lenny is now ensconced in a brick-walled apartment on the Lower East Side. 2006 P. Bensley Climbers & Wall Plants 50/1 Climbers and ramblers galore run riot in this delightful brick-walled garden. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online December 2021). † brick walln.² Forms: 1500s–1600s bricke wall, 1600s brick wall. Origin: Apparently a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: bricole n. Etymology: Apparently an alteration of bricole n. (although this is first attested slightly later in the corresponding sense), after brick wall n.¹, by folk-etymological association with the wall of the tennis court, from which the ball rebounds in a bricole. Real Tennis. Obsolete. A sidestroke which causes a ball to rebound from the wall of the court; cf. bricole n. 2a. Also figurative: a person who is used as an indirect means of achieving an aim; a secondary effect arising as a consequence of something else. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > racket games > real tennis > [noun] > rebound of ball from wall brick wall1580 bricole1598 1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong at Bricole Il à fait vne bricole, he hath plaied and made a Bricke-wall. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. xv. sig. Rr2 Musicke..which, though Anaxius might conceiue was for his honour, yet indeede he was but the Bricke-wall to conuey it to the eares of the beloued Philoclea. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Bricoler, to tosse, or strike a ball sideways; to give it a bricke wall (at Tennis). 1662 A. Mervyn Speech to Duke of Ormond 4 We come not to criminate, or to force a ball into the Dedan, but if any brick-wall expressions happen..it is rather a force upon us. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † brick wallv. Forms: 1500s–1600s brick wall, 1600s bricke wal. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: brick wall n.². Etymology: < brick wall n.² Compare later bricole v. 2 and the discussion at that entry. Real Tennis. Obsolete. transitive. To cause (a ball) to rebound from a wall or similar surface. Chiefly figurative and in figurative contexts (see brick wall n.²). Cf. bricole v. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > impact > rebound > cause to rebound [verb (transitive)] reboundc1560 brick wall1596 rejerk1606 bricole1611 reflect1613 to beat back1715 bounce1876 tamp1971 1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden Ep. Ded. sig. C2 Whiles thou mak'st a Tennis-court of their faces, by brick-walling thy clay-balls crosse vp and downe their cheekes. 1600 J. Chamberlain Let. 31 May (1939) I. 40 Tossed to and fro and brickewald like a tennis ball from the one side to the other. a1628 F. Greville Mustapha iii. Chorus in Certaine Wks. (1633) 127 Brick-wall your errors from one, to another. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2019; most recently modified version published online December 2020). < n.¹1465n.²1580v.1596
随便看	to live one's own life to live out to live out from a suitcase to live out from a suitcases to live out of a suitcase to live out of a suitcases to live over the shop to live perqueer to live recluse to live retiredly to live sole to live tally to live the dream to live the high life to live the life of riley to live through to live to fight another day to live to regret to live to regret something to live to see the day to live to tell the tale to live to —— another day to live together to live up to live up to

brick walln.1

Phrases

Compounds

Derivatives

† brick walln.2

† brick wallv.

brick walln.¹

† brick walln.²