Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1800-1900
Origin: From a trick in which a brick is sold by pretending it is made of gold

goldbrick

 noun
     
gold‧brick also gold‧brick‧er [countable]
American English informalBBO someone who stays away from their work, especially by pretending that they are ill
—goldbrick verb [intransitive]
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

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