Dictionary

brasser en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbɹæzəɹ/ (Ireland)
• brăzər (Ireland)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From Cockney rhyming slang brass nail, or its reduced form brass, with the same meaning.

Meanings

1. (Ireland, slang) Prostitute.
   • Among the devices in the word formation morphology of Dublin English the most striking and productive must be the addition of -er /-ər/ (more rarely -ers) to stems...Examples: ...brasser 'prostitute, shameless female'... 2005, Raymond Hickey, Dublin English: evolution and change, John Benjamins Publishing Company, page 138:
   • "Sex workers? Jesus, even the brassers have gone PC," I said to the screen. 2011, Tony Black, Paying For It, page 167:
   • "Oh, and all the brassers knew Dolly Moran," he said. Quirke nodded. Brassers were whores, he assumed, but how? Brass nails, rhyming with tails, or was it something to do with screws? 2006, Benjamin Black, Christine Falls, Picador, page 174:
   • 1. The brassers, yeh know wha' I mean. The gee. Is tha' why? 2. Yeh know the way they're The Byrds an' Bird is another name for a girl, righ'? —Couldn't we be The Brassers? It was a great name. 1987, Roddy Doyle, The Commitments, Dublin: King Farouk:
   • Don't misunderstand me, compadre, he said. Not just women. All men are brassers as well. 1991, Roddy Doyle, The Van, Secker & Warburg, →ISBN:

Forms