bold as brass
"bold-as-brass" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“bold as brass” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 13
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Very bold; very forward or impudent.
Corpus desk
Index EN-bold-as-brass · bold as brass · English
bold as brass · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 13 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | bold as brass |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| Letters | 13 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “bold as brass” in English
Rare enough to double-check
bold as brass is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Very bold; very forward or impudent.".
We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for bold as brass, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, since no other headword is close enough in sound or shape to pair with it.
Etymologically, the entry records: Popularly supposed to have originated in reference to Brass Crosby, Lord Mayor of London in the 1770s, who was bold enough to defy the British parliament. However, this origin theory is dismissed by some as bogus. The correct English form is bold as brass, spelled B-O-L-D- -A-S- -B-R-A-S-S.
Definition
- 1Very bold; very forward or impudent.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how bold as brass appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
The twins were now playing in the most approved brotherly fashion till at last Master Jacky who was really as bold as brass there was no getting behind that deliberately kicked the ball as hard as ever he could down towards the seaweedy rocks.
Well, she schlumphed her Vera down the screech at a rate of knots, zhooshed up the riah, checked the slap in the mirror behind the bar, straightened up one ogle fake riah that had come adrift, and bold as brass orderlied over as fast as she could manage in those bats and, in her best lips, asked, if she could parker the omi a bevvy.
Etymology
Popularly supposed to have originated in reference to Brass Crosby, Lord Mayor of London in the 1770s, who was bold enough to defy the British parliament. However, this origin theory is dismissed by some as bogus.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.