goldbricker

1 9.9

A person who avoids work by pretending to be busy

noun
/ˈɡoʊldˌbrɪkər/

Offensive

: escaqueador

Okay, all you lazy, good-for-nothing goldbrickers.

Examples

A fucking goldbricker.

Fiction book (1998)
All you lazy, good-for-nothing goldbrickers, dinner is served.

Carolina (2003)
All those goldbrickers spent the day pretending to work while avoiding their real tasks.
He always finds an excuse to leave early; he's just a typical goldbricker.
The supervisor called out the goldbricker who was making excuses instead of doing his job.

Synonyms

slacker

vsgoldbricker

Offensive

33 4.6

A person who avoids work and often does very little

uses pretending busy or excuses as an active evasive tactic

do-nothing

vsgoldbricker

Offensive

9 7.0

A person who avoids work and makes little effort

avoids duties while often pretending busy or offering excuses to escape work

loafer

vsgoldbricker

Offensive

5 5.8

A person who avoids work and does very little

avoids duties by acting busy or making excuses rather than pure idleness

goof-off

vsgoldbricker

Informal

2 8.6

A person who avoids work and wastes time

more about active excuse-making or pretend busyness than mere goofing

malingerer

vsgoldbricker

Formal

2 8.9

A person who pretends to be ill to avoid work

avoids work similarly but typically by seeming busy rather than sick

shirker

vsgoldbricker

1 8.0

A person who avoids work or responsibility, often by making excuses

uses excuses or busy appearance specifically to dodge assigned tasks

goldbrick

vsgoldbricker

Offensive

1 9.6

A person who avoids work by pretending to be busy

focuses more on the tactic of feigning busyness across contexts

bludger

vsgoldbricker

Offensive

1 9.9

A person who avoids work and does very little

often uses feigned busyness or excuses rather than plain slang laziness

sickie

vsgoldbricker

Slang

1 9.3

A person who pretends to be ill to avoid work

avoids duties using other excuses or feigned busyness beyond sickness

scrimshanker

vsgoldbricker

Offensive

9.9

A person who avoids work

relies on excuse or busy pretence rather than general laziness

ditcher

vsgoldbricker

Informal

7.2

A person who often misses school or work on purpose

avoids duties more by using excuses or pretending to be busy

shammer

vsgoldbricker

9.9

A person who pretends to be sick to avoid work

uses a broader range of excuses or busy pretence rather than only sickness

skulker

vsgoldbricker

9.1

A person who avoids work by pretending to be ill

more often pretends busy or offers excuses rather than hiding physically

todger dodger

vsgoldbricker

Offensive

9.9

A person who avoids work or duties by making excuses

more actively pretends busy or makes specific excuses to dodge tasks

piddler

vsgoldbricker

Informal

9.7

A person who wastes time on small unimportant tasks instead of doing useful work

avoids duties by excuse or pretend busyness rather than mere distraction

Antonyms

dedicated

153 3.9

Giving a lot of time and care to a job or cause

hard worker

33 1.3

A person who puts a lot of effort into their job or tasks

How Lazy

idler

Offensive

2 7.0

loafer

Offensive

5 5.8

goldbricker

Offensive

1 9.9

slacker

Offensive

33 4.6

Surface Forms

goldbricker singular

goldbrickers plural

Morphology

goldbricker = goldbrick (opaque) = gold + brick + er

The agent noun is formed from 'goldbrick' + '-er', but the shirking sense is lexicalized and not predictable from the literal meanings of 'gold' and 'brick'.

Etymology

Goldbricker comes from the slang gold brick, a 'fake' or 'worthless' bar of gold once sold by scammers. Because a gold brick looked valuable but did no real work, people began to call someone who pretends to be busy or sick a goldbricker, so it means a person who avoids work.