On a slight tangent, we have the phrase ‘red brick university’ in the UK, to denote a university that was founded in one of our victorian, industrial cities before WWI, when the university buildings would have been built almost entirely in red brick, which was vastly popular in the victorian era.
Originally, the term would have been derogatory, comparing these new universities to the ancient ones of Oxford and Cambridge, but these days to say ‘I went to a red brick university’ carries some prestige in comparison with newer unis.
Of course, the American version of “high street” is “Main Street,” but it is used almost exclusively as a counterpoint to “Wall Street,” to emphasize the difference between small, local businesses and the big financial industry.
I read/hear a lot of North American media here in Canada, especially American. I have never ever noticed the term without the plural, I guess I’ll have to watch for it.
But yes, the major application of the term here is almost exclusively to refer to a retailer with a wide physical presence (multiple physical stores) versus one that is strictly online. Usually this is in a discussion about the advantages and disadvantages of having such - i.e. the need to collect multiple state sales taxes, or the showrooming phenomenon - where people come into a store to look at goods, then order the same item online from a cheaper non-b&m retailer. I don’t remember hearing it in the strictly real-estate context except in spill-over from the internet-related meaning. I have never heard it applied to non-commercial buildings.
“Brick” as an adjective can indicate a texture, colour, mode of construction - “brick wall, brick building, yellow brick road”. Brick/bricks as a noun, is more precise in it’s enumeration. “I hit him with a brick”, “thick as a brick”, “they delivered a pallet of bricks”, “he laid another course of bricks”. (Although in the latter, it could be a collective noun too, “he laid another course of brick”)
It can also be a verb, “I bricked him into the wall while humming about a cask of Amontillado”.
The phrase isn’t completely familiar in the US yet. A while ago my wife and I were discussing getting a new computer and I told her I wanted to buy one at a brick-and-morter store. She could not understand why anyone would shop for a computer at Home Depot.
By that rationale, the word “brick” isn’t completely familiar in the US yet, either, as there is surely at least one person who doesn’t know what it means.
I’m American and use “brick and mortar”, I would have no idea “Bricks and mortar” would mean a home if I heard it, I have only ever heard it used in the context of a physical store location vs an online shop.
I’ve only heard “bricks and mortar,” but I’ve only ever heard it here, so I could be hearing the British version. I never heard it in the US, but I left there before the Internet took off, which matters because I’ve only heard it in the context of a physical shop as opposed to an online business. There were no online businesses when I last lived in the US.
> On a slight tangent, we have the phrase ‘red brick university’ in the UK, to
> denote a university that was founded in one of our victorian, industrial cities
> before WWI, when the university buildings would have been built almost
> entirely in red brick, which was vastly popular in the victorian era.
>
> Originally, the term would have been derogatory, comparing these new
> universities to the ancient ones of Oxford and Cambridge, but these days to
> say ‘I went to a red brick university’ carries some prestige in comparison with
> newer unis.
For those who aren’t familiar with the history of universities in the U.K., this may help:
Up through 1795, there were only two universities in England and four in Scotland. From 1796 to 1895, there were six more universities established in England, one more in Scotland, four in Wales, and one in Northern Ireland. Then from 1880 to 1909 there were six more established in the large cities of England. These six are usually the ones referred to as the red brick ones.
There was another wave of the establishment of seven universities from 1920 to 1957. There was one more of the establishment of universities from 1961 to 1969. This last group is usually called the plate glass universities. There were three more from 1969 to 1974.
Up to 1992, there was a group of institutions that were referred to as polytechnics. In 1992 through 1994, 38 of them were renamed as universities. In 2001 through the present, 36 more were renamed as universities.
To an American, this is rather surprising. In 1992, when there were a couple of thousand colleges and universities in the U.S., there were 37 of them in the U.K.
Since these commandments apply when speaking about any brick. It is referencing all bricks. Therefore the proper reading should be: Yea, verily, I say unto thee, that all these commandments thou shalt obey whenever thou speakest of brick.
But you wouldn’t pluralize a verb anyhow.
Not when you remember that Great Britain is only the size of a medium sized State.
