I've often wondered why a missionary friend of mine would describe his wife of 40+ years as "a brick." He said it in a complimentary way, indicating that she was steadfast in her support of and love towards him, was my well-thought conclusion. Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't help thinking immediately that she was "thick as a brick" (dense in the brain department) and not part of a Jethro Tull album!! Then there was the possibility that she was "built like a brick"...not exactly something that would make her leap with glee...assuming a brick could, in fact, leap.Oh, and while I think of it...Why is it that a woman who has a fabulous figure is "built like a brick outhouse?" Is it that much more expensive to construct? Is it that it is immovable? Does the half-moon usually found on the door have anything to do with it? "The Straight Dope" website says the phrase was originally applied to powerful men, then not-attractive women, then some wiseguy applied it to a good looking lady and linguistically it stuck...kinda like the smell to the original accommodation.
I think my illustration (created in Paint, no less) that I used when I discussed the phrase Privy Council might have further use if some unwise guys address the women of their lives in an un-considered fashion using the above phrase as a compliment and have it taken the wrong way. Pilloried might be an easy way out, given how some folks might draw out the mental torment for such an affront.
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