bricks

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | 700+ words | Copyright

bricks like a ton of bricks with crushing weight, force, or authority.
you cannot make bricks without straw nothing can be made or performed without the necessary materials (frequently used as a metaphorical phrase, to make bricks without straw). The saying is recorded from the mid 17th century, and the reference is originally biblical, to Exodus 5:7,‘Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.’ ‘Without straw’ meant ‘without having straw provided’ (i.e. the Israelites were required to gather the straw for themselves in order to make the bricks required by their Egyptian taskmasters). A misinterpretation has led to the current sense.

See also brick.

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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bricks." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 13 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bricks." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 13, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-bricks.html

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "bricks." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 13, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-bricks.html

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