Plural of brick; rectangular blocks of baked clay or other materials used in building walls and structures, or slang for things that don't sell well.
From Middle Dutch 'bricke,' possibly from Old Saxon or German origins. The word emerged in English around the 14th century as the building material became common. The slang usage developed in retail in the 20th century, referring to unsold merchandise.
Bricks might be one of humanity's oldest technologies—the earliest bricks date back 13,000 years to the Fertile Crescent! The fact that we still use the same basic rectangular design shows how perfectly optimized this shape is for building. Some technologies are too perfect to improve.
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