Word of the Day Archive
Sunday August 3, 2008
brummagem \BRUHM-uh-juhm\ , adjective:
Cheap and showy, tawdry; also, spurious, counterfeit.
But demanding that publishers replace their brummagem wares with books which embody Kunin's "high standards of excellence" would be a promising -- and cost-free -- way to begin.
-- Betty McCollister, "A Conspiracy of Good Intentions: America's Textbook Fiasco", Humanist, November-December, 1993
The distortions they bring on damage society and fuel defiant behavior, encouraging everything from immigrations to the Cayman Islands, to active distortions of reality through brummagem corporate filings.
-- William F. Buckley, Jr., "Reforming the Rich", National Review, January 20, 2006
Brummagem is an alteration of Birmingham, England, from the counterfeit groats produced there in the 17th century.
Dictionary.com Entry and Pronunciation for brummagem
