The expression to have brass on one’s face is used in the South Atlantic region of the United States to describe someone who is bold or overconfident. There’s a similar idea in the word brazen, which derives from an Old English word for brass. This is part of a complete episode.
Transcript of “Brass on Your Face”
Do you know the expression to have brass on one’s face?
No.
Can you guess what it might be?
She has a lot of brass on her face.
Is it anything like the other uses of to have brass, to be bold or courageous?
Right, forward, overconfident.
It’s heard mostly in the South Atlantic, North Carolina, South Carolina.
And I’m surprised it’s not heard more widely.
But when you think about it, it’s also related to the idea of brazen.
Brazen comes from the Old English word for brass.
So if you’re brazen, it means you do something despite the odds or you do it despite social convention.
Right, right.
It’s as if you have brass on your face.
But that little expression is just fossilized in that part of the country.
Isn’t that interesting?
Outstanding. 877-929-9673.
