Pinchbeck (alloy) it came to mean a cheap and tawdry imitation of gold. Pinchbeck is typically composed of copper and zinc in ratios of 89% copper to 11% zinc; or 93% copper to 7% zinc. Pinchbeck (alloy) Pinchbeck is a form of brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, mixed in proportions so that it closely resembles gold in appearance. It was invented in the 18th century by Christopher Pinchbeck, a London clockmaker. Since gold was only sold in 18-carat quality at that time, the development of pinchbeck allowed ordinary people to buy gold 'effect' jewellery on a budget. The inventor allegedly
Brass monkey (colloquialism) Brass monkey (colloquialism) The phrase "cold enough to freeze the balls off (or "on") a brass monkey" is a colloquial expression used by some English speakers. The reference to the testes (as the term "balls" is commonly understood to mean) of the brass monkey appears to be a 20th-century variant on the expression, prefigured by a range of references to other body parts, especially the nose and tail. During the 19th and 20th centuries, small monkeys cast from the alloy brass were very common tourist souvenirs from China and Japan. They usually, but not always, came in a set of