goldbrick

n.
A person, especially a soldier, who avoids assigned duties or work; a shirker.


v., -bricked, -brick·ing, -bricks.

v.intr.
To shirk one's assigned duties or responsibilities.

v.tr.
To cheat; swindle.

goldbricker gold'brick'er n.

(GOLD-brik)

noun
1. Something that appears valuable but is worthless.
2. A person who shirks assigned work or does it without proper effort.

verb intr.
To shirk duty.

verb tr.
To cheat or swindle.

Etymology
Sense 1 from the con artists' old trick of selling a gold-polished piece of less valuable metal as solid gold. Sense 2 was originally military slang for an officer appointed from civilian life.

Usage
"Governor Yevgeny Nazdratenko was rushed to the hospital after suffering a heart attack, and we all felt guilty to learn that we were at fault. ... Still, it is lucky that the heart attack was real, because the medical establishment takes a dim view of goldbricks." — Russell Working; Feeling Nazdratenko's Pain; The Moscow Times (Russia); Feb 5, 2001.

"Underminers, half-steppers, gossips and goldbricks were not tolerated on his (Jack Kent Cooke) watch." — Thomas Boswell; The Buck Stops With The Man Who Signs The Redskins' Checks; The Washington Post; Oct 19, 2001.

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To shirk one's responsibilities. A person who is goldbricking is not doing what is expected. When goldbricking, one is wasting time.

verb

To pass time without working or in avoiding work: bum¹ (around), idle, laze, loaf, loiter, lounge, shirk. Slang diddle², goof (off). See industrious/lazy.

Dansk (Danish)
n. - person der lusker sig fra sine pligter
v. intr. - pjække
v. tr. - snyde

Nederlands (Dutch)
zich drukken voor, bezwendelen, nep/namaak iets, lijntrekker

Français (French)
n. - (GB) babiole, (US) tire-au-flanc, barre d'or, (US) affaire en or
v. intr. - se soustraire à, (fig) tirer au flanc
v. tr. - escroquer, tricher

Deutsch (German)
n. - Drückeberger, etwas Unechtes
v. - sich drücken vor

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ψευτόπραγμα, αργόσχολος
v. - λουφάρω

Italiano (Italian)
lingotto, frode, abbindolare

Português (Portuguese)
n. - falsificação (f), dissimulador (m)
v. - evitar (trabalho, dever, responsabilidade)

Русский (Russian)
лодырничать

Español (Spanish)
n. - ladrillo que parece hecho de oro, cosa despreciable pero aparentemente valiosa
v. intr. - escurrir el bulto, holgazanear
v. tr. - estafar, engañar

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - förfalskning, skolkare (sl.)
v. - förfalska, skolka (sl.)

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
假金砖, 赝品, 懒汉, 称病, 偷懒, 欺诈

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 假金磚, 贗品, 懶漢
v. intr. - 稱病, 偷懶, 欺詐
v. tr. - 欺詐, 偷懶

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 가짜 금괴, 위조물, 매력 없는 여자, 근무태만의 병사, 게으름쟁이
v. intr. - 게으름 피우다, 근무를 태만하게 하다
v. tr. - 사기를 치다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - にせ金塊
v. - ごまかす

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) المتهرب من خدمه او عمل ما (فعل) يتهرب من القيام بعمل ما‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮זיוף, הונאה, תחליף זול לזהב, עצלן‬
v. intr. - ‮השתמט‬
v. tr. - ‮רימה‬

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