brass

as bold as brass: seebold.

brass monkey used in various phrases to refer to extremely cold weather.

☞ Brass monkey comes from the mid-20th-century vulgar slang expression 'cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey', the origin of which has been debated. One suggestion relates it to brass trays known as monkeys on which cannon balls were once stowed aboard warships.

1994Camping Magazine David will be doing his best to show you how to keep warm under canvas even if the temperature outside has dipped to brass monkey level.

the brass ring success, especially as a reward for ambition or hard work. North American informal

☞ This phrase refers to the reward of a free ride on a merry-go-round given to the person who succeeds in hooking a brass ring suspended over the horses.

brass neck cheek or effrontery. informal

get (or come) down to brass tacks start to consider the essential facts or practical details; reach the real matter in hand. informal

1932T. S. EliotSweeney Agonistes That's all the facts when you come to brass tacks: Birth, and copulation, and death.

not a brass farthing no money or assets at all. informal

part brass rags with: seerag.

where there's muck there's brass: seemuck.