brass neck

1. noun Self-assured shamelessness, audacity, confidence, gall, or impudence. Primarily heard in UK. It takes a brass neck to make such an outlandish demand of me. The junior minister has shown a brass neck to the public regarding his plans to cut social welfare. He's got a brass neck to talk to his boss like that.

2. noun A person displaying or characterized by self-assured shamelessness, audacity, confidence, gall, or impudence. Primarily heard in UK. It's beyond me how a brass neck like him could be appointed as a manager. Adding a brass neck like Joe to the team would totally disrupt our chemistry. He demanded a raise, right there in the middle of the meeting! What a brass neck!

3. verb To act with courageous self-confidence, especially in an audacious, impudent, or shameless manner. Primarily heard in UK. We didn't have enough money for the train ride, but we thought we'd just brass neck it if anyone gave us grief. They're toddlers—all they do is brass neck it. It's their world, we're just living in it. He demanded a raise, right there in the middle of the meeting! I never expected him to just brass neck it like that!

neck

1. noun, informal Brazen, impudent, or insolent boldness; nerve. Primarily heard in UK. I can't believe he had the neck to demand a raise, right there in the middle of the meeting! You've got some neck, talking to me like that! The neck of you—how dare you imply something so horrid!

2. verb, informal To kiss and caress (someone) in an amorous manner. It's a popular spot for high school kids to park their cars and neck in the back seat. I caught him necking Julie in the supply closet yesterday.

3. verb, informal To drink (something, especially alcohol) very quickly. Primarily heard in UK. You're going to make yourself sick if you keep necking your pints like that. I had to neck my coffee and race out the door in order to catch my bus.

neck down

1. To drink something very quickly, especially in a single gulp. A noun or pronoun can be used between "neck" and "down." The bartender did his last call, so we necked down our drinks and ordered one last round. I hate having to neck my coffee down like that!

2. To alter the diameter of a case in order to hold a smaller caliber bullet. The .308 Winchester can be necked down to accept a variety of different bullets, depending on what you plan to hunt.

neck up

To alter the diameter of a case in order to hold a larger caliber bullet. I neck .284 Winchester brass up to use with 7.5mm bullets.

neck with (one)

old-fashioned slang To kiss and caress one passionately and for an extended period of time. The cars parked in "Lover's Lane" are filled with high school students necking with their boyfriends and girlfriends. If you hadn't been so busy necking with that guy, you might have realized we were all leaving the club!

necking knob

dated A rounded knob mounted to the steering wheel of a car so that it can be steered with one hand. So called because the driver (typically male) is able to place their arm around their romantic partner. My grandfather gave me his old Cadillac, which still had the necking knob on the wheel from when he first started courting my grandmother.

brass neck

cheek or effrontery. informal

neck

in. to cuddle and kiss. (Always in reference to lovers or boy-girl relationships.) There are some teenagers in the back room, necking.

necking knob

A swivel on a car's steering wheel. The necking knob enables the driver to steer with his left hand while encircling his girlfriend's shoulder with his right arm. Even when the driver was alone, the knob was an easy way to turn the car in the days before power steering.