Brick, Firebrick Furnace

/FIR-brik FUR-niss/ · n.

1. A specially designed refractory brick, robust in thermal resilience, used to line high-temperature enclosures such as furnaces and kilns; esp. one perceived as gravitationally significant when viewed astern in raking light.

2. colloq. The cornerstone's overachieving cousin that insists on being the star of the masonry show, even when the walls just want to blend in.

Etymology. From Middle English 'brik', from Middle French 'brique', derived from Old Dutch 'brikke', meaning 'broken'. This one clearly hit the gym.

In the village bakery, the thiccc firebrick furnace basked in its own heat, making even the sourdoughs feel underdressed.

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Photo by Snap Wander on Unsplash.