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The Learning Kingdom's Cool Word of the Day for August 19, 1999
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brummagem [n., adj. BRUM-uh-jum]
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If something is brummagem then it is a cheap and showy imitation,
lacking real value. The word is usually applied to phony jewelry or
shiny metallic items. Example: "Those glittery earrings of glass and
tinfoil are nothing but worthless brummagem."
This slang word is an alteration of the name of Birmingham, England,
and is also pronounced the same way that some locals pronounce the
city's name. The Romans called the place Bremenium [bruh-MEN-ee-um].
This word has a dark, little known history. In the sixteenth century,
Great Britain took part in a thriving slave trade, in which cheap,
poorly made trinkets were traded for slaves in Africa. Birmingham
was a center for the production of this gaudy garbage or "Brummagem
ware," which included shiny jewelry, mirrors, beads and knives.
More about the slave trade and anti-slavery campaigns in England:
http://landow.stg.brown.edu/victorian/history/antislavery.html
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