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brickbat

[brik-bat]

Origin

noun

a piece of broken brick, especially one used as a missile.

any rocklike missile.

an unkind or unfavorable remark; caustic criticism: The critics greeted the play with brickbats.

Origin:
1555–65; brick + bat¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Brickbat is always a great word to know.

So is gobo. Does it mean:

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

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Collins

World English Dictionary

brickbat (ˈbrɪkˌbæt)

—n
1.	a piece of brick or similar material, esp one used as a weapon
2.	blunt criticism: the critic threw several brickbats at the singer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

brickbat

mid-16c., piece of brick (half or less) used as a missile, from brick + bat (n.1). Figurative use, of comments, insults, etc., is from 1640s.

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"It was a fatal day when the public discovered that the pen is mightier than the paving-stone, and can be made as offensive as the brickbat. They at once sought for the journalist, found him, developed him, and made him their industrious and well-paid servant. It is greatly to be regretted, for both their sakes."

-Oscar Wilde

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brickbat

brick·bat