goldbrick
596
that appears to be valuable: This new all-in-one personal
organizer is a goldbrick if ever I saw one.
goldbrick² v [I] AmE infml to stay away from one's work or
responsibilities, especially with the false excuse that one is
ill: George called in sick but I think he's goldbricking; he's got
tickets for the baseball game.
'gold ,card trademark a type of CREDIT CARD available to people
with a lot of money or property
'Gold ,Coast n 1 the former name of Ghana before
1957 2 [C] AmE an expensive area of nice homes, especially
one near water: Chicago's Gold Coast along Lake Shore Drive
,Gold 'Cup, the a horse race held every March in Chelten-
ham, England
'gold ,digger n 1 old-fash derog slang a woman who tries to
attract rich men so that she can get money and presents 2 a
person who tries to find gold by digging in the earth
'gold dust n [U] gold in the form of a fine powder: (fig.) Good
computer personnel are like gold dust. (=very valuable and
hard to find)
gold-en /'gəʊldən/ adj 1 especially lit made of gold: a golden
crown 2 especially lit of the colour of gold: golden hair 3 [A]
very favourable or advantageous: I missed a golden chance/
opportunity to make a lot of money. 4 [A] very successful or
having qualities that promise future success: He's one of the
company's golden boys; sales have doubled since he took over
as marketing director. | the golden girl of US tennis → com-
pare GOLD²
'golden age n [(of)] a period of time, either real or imaginary,
when everyone was happy, the best work was done etc: The
17th century was the golden age of Dutch painting. | People
are always harking back to an imaginary golden age.
,golden anni'versary n AmE for GOLDEN WEDDING
,golden 'calf n a CALF (=young cow) made from gold which,
in a Bible story, was worshipped by the Jews. It is now used
to represent the false worship of material things, rather than
God.
Golden De'licious n a popular type of sweet, yellow-green
apple
,golden 'eagle n a large golden-brown meat-eating bird that
lives in northern parts of the world
,golden 'egg n an egg made of gold laid by the GOLDEN
GOOSE
,golden 'fleece, the in CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY the gold
FLEECE of a magical flying RAM which Jason and the Argo-
nauts obtained after many adventures
,Golden 'Gate, the an area of water which connects San
Francisco Bay in California with the Pacific Ocean. It is
crossed by the Golden Gate Bridge.
the Golden Gate Bridge
,Golden Gate 'Bridge, the also the Golden Gate a
bridge which crosses the Golden Gate, in San Francisco Bay
in California. The bridge is often used in pictures to repre-
sent San Francisco.
,Golden 'Glove A,wards, the a ceremony held every year
in the US, at which prizes are given to the best baseball
FIELDERS in the Major Leagues
,Golden 'Gloves, the an American competition for AMA-
TEUR (=unpaid) BOXERS
,golden 'goose n a magical GOOSE in an old story, which
laid one golden egg each day. The owners of the goose tried
to open the goose up, to get out all the eggs that were
inside, but in doing so they killed the goose. → see also
GOOSE
,golden 'handcuffs n [P] a large amount of money given to
someone by their employer to persuade them to stay in their
present job and not leave for another job
,golden 'handshake n BrE a large amount of money given
to someone when they leave a job, especially when the
company has asked them to leave
,golden hel'lo n a payment offered to someone to persuade
them to join a company
,golden 'jubilee n the date that is exactly 50 years after the
date of some important personal event, especially of becom-
ing a king or queen → compare DIAMOND JUBILEE, SILVER
JUBILEE
,golden 'mean n [(the)S] a balance between two extreme
positions, ideas etc
golden old-ie, golden oldy /ˌgəʊldən 'əʊldi/ n a popular
song that may be many years old, but that people still enjoy
listening to: This radio station only plays golden oldies.
,golden 'parachute n infml part of an EXECUTIVE's contract
according to which she/he will be paid a large sum of
money when the contract ends, even if she/he did not work
well
,golden 'rule n [S] a very important fact, principle, way of
behaving etc that must be remembered
Golden Rule, The an idea from the Bible that people
should treat others in the way that they want to be treated
themselves: I've always tried to live by The Golden Rule.
,golden 'syrup n [U] BrE a sweet thick liquid made from
sugar, that is spread on bread and used in cooking
,Golden 'Temple, the a TEMPLE (=a type of church) in
AMRITSAR in India which is very important in the SIKH
religion. It stands in the middle of a holy lake and contains
the holy book of the Sikhs. In 1984 a group of Sikhs took
control of the temple and there was a battle between them
and Indian soldiers in which many of the Sikhs were killed.
,Golden 'Triangle, the an area of hills consisting of part of
Laos, Thailand, and Burma, where a lot of money is thought
to be made because poppies (POPPY) for making the drug
OPIUM are grown there
,golden 'wedding also ,golden 'wedding anni,ver-
sary also golden anniversary AmE — n the date that is
exactly 50 years after the date of a wedding → compare
DIAMOND WEDDING, SILVER WEDDING
,Golden 'Wonder trademark a British type of potato CRISP¹,
made in several different FLAVOURS
gold-field /'gəʊldfiːld/ also goldfields pl. — n an area of
land where gold can be found
gold-finch /'gəʊldˌfɪntʃ/ n a small singing bird with some
yellow feathers
gold-fish /'gəʊldˌfɪʃ/ n pl: goldfish a small shiny especially
orange fish which is kept as a pet in glass bowls in houses,
and in ORNAMENTAL pools in gardens
'goldfish ,bowl also fishbowl AmE — n 1 a glass bowl,
usually very rounded in shape, in which fish are kept as
pets 2 in a goldfish bowl open to public view: Filmstars
live in a goldfish bowl.
Gold-i-locks /'gəʊldilɒks||-lɑːks/ 1 the main character in
the children's story Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Goldilocks
is a young girl with golden-coloured hair who visits the house
of the Three Bears while they are out. She tries sitting in each
of their chairs, tastes each of their bowls of PORRIDGE, and lies
in each of their beds until she finds the one she likes best.
When the Bears come back, they realize that someone has
been in their home. They each ask 'Who's been sitting in my
chair?', 'Who's been eating my porridge?', and 'Who's been
sleeping in my bed?' until they finally find Goldilocks asleep
in the baby bear's bed. Goldilocks then wakes up and runs
away. 2 a humorous name for someone, especially a little
girl, with BLOND hair
Gol-ding, William /'gəʊldɪŋ/ (1911–93) a British writer who
won the NOBEL PRIZE for Literature in 1983, and who is
known especially for his novel LORD OF THE FLIES