Ladrillo

[laepelba]

I know that it is English for "brick", but a different dictionary says "heavy (familiar)" and RAE says "Cosa pesada o aburrida". Will you please comment on this? How can something familiar be heavy? And in the RAE definition, is this an adjecgtive?

[sosia]

familiar implies "a familiar usage"
A brick (Un ladrillo) in a familiar usage, it's something heavy you have to carry, literally or not.
examples
cosa pesada y aburrida (familiar):
-El discurso de Obama/Fidel Castro/Chávez fue un ladrillo
The lecture of Obama/Fidel Castro/Chávez was long and tedious
heavy (familiar)
-mi nuevo móvil es muy ligero, el anterior era un ladrillo
My new mobile phone it's feathery, the old was big and heavy

You can say both in a familiar way, but it's not a proper word to write.
saludos

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by laepelba

I know that it is English for "brick", but a different dictionary says "heavy (familiar)" and RAE says "Cosa pesada o aburrida". Will you please comment on this? How can something familiar be heavy? And in the RAE definition, is this an adjecgtive?

GDO:

ladrillomasculino
1 brick; una pared de ladrillo a brick wall; fachada a ladrillo visto or (América Latina) de ladrillo a la vista brick facade; ser un ladrillo (familiar) «libro» to be heavy-going; «persona» (Argentina) to be dense o slow (familiar)
In BrE there is also the concept of being very stupid: to be as thick as a brick

[aleCcowaN]

Originally Posted by Perikles

ladrillomasculino
...
«persona» (Argentina) to be dense o slow (familiar)

This doesn't exist here at all.

plomo, plomazo = dull boring person, boring performance, tedious time, long waiting time
piedra, tonelada = something heavy
piedra = something indigestible ---> "me cayó como piedra"

"Ladrillo" is not used here with those meanings -I can't recall any lexical use of it in that sense outside Spain-

[AngelicaDeAlquezar]

I agree with Sosia's explanation and examples. We can also use "un plomo" instead of "un ladrillo".

@Lou Ann: No, it's not an adjective, but a noun used as some sort of metaphor.

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

I know that it is English for "brick", but a different dictionary says "heavy (familiar)" and RAE says "Cosa pesada o aburrida". Will you please comment on this? How can something familiar be heavy? And in the RAE definition, is this an adjecgtive?

In English (I guess it is a false cognate)

you're a brick!

We use it instead to mean "dense"

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by sosia

familiar implies "a familiar usage"

Does "familiar" then mean "informal"? I'm not really clear on the "familiar" part....

Originally Posted by Perikles

GDO:

ladrillomasculino
1 brick; una pared de ladrillo a brick wall; fachada a ladrillo visto or (América Latina) de ladrillo a la vista brick facade; ser un ladrillo (familiar) «libro» to be heavy-going; «persona» (Argentina) to be dense o slow (familiar)
In BrE there is also the concept of being very stupid: to be as thick as a brick

What is this GDO? Is there a website? Or are you re-typing stuff from a book that you have?

Originally Posted by chileno

In English (I guess it is a false cognate)

you're a brick!

We use it instead to mean "dense"

I've never heard that phrase used in English before. Maybe it's Nevada-English?

Thanks, all - I think I've got it now.

[poli]

Your a brick sounds truly strange to me, however if you say you are thick as a brick, you are accusing someone of being stupid.

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by poli

Your a brick sounds truly strange to me, however if you say you are thick as a brick, you are accusing someone of being stupid.

That doesn't sound as odd to me....

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

Does "familiar" then mean "informal"? I'm not really clear on the "familiar" part....

Yes.

Originally Posted by laepelba

I've never heard that phrase used in English before. Maybe it's Nevada-English?

Originally Posted by poli

Your a brick sounds truly strange to me, however if you say you are thick as a brick, you are accusing someone of being stupid.

Either will mean "stupid".

"What, Am I talking to a brick?"

Originally Posted by laepelba

That doesn't sound as odd to me....

Well, it must be because "your a brick" is totally different from "you're a brick"

[laepelba]

Originally Posted by chileno

Either will mean "stupid".

"What, Am I talking to a brick?"

Well, it must be because "your a brick" is totally different from "you're a brick"

I have heard "it's like talking to a brick", but I have never heard anyone called directly "you're a brick". I know that "your" and "you're" are different....

[chileno]

Originally Posted by laepelba

I have heard "it's like talking to a brick", but I have never heard anyone called directly "you're a brick". I know that "your" and "you're" are different....

Then, it must be my Nevada-English.

[JPablo]

Yup, but "to be stupid like a brick" does exist and it is used around... or if not around, at least, parallelepiped-ly,

In Spain there is also the usage of "tocho", particularly for books,
DRAE,
tocho
3. m. coloq. Número considerable de papeles escritos. Un tocho de apuntes de clase.4. m. Libro de muchas páginas. Ha publicado un tocho de mil páginas.

Tocho is actually a 'brick' or an 'iron ingot'... (the sense of "tocho = brick" it is probably a Catalonia usage, as it is not in DRAE nor Moliner.)

La novela es un tocho, o más pesada que un ladrillo... un plomazo que no veas... (These are common expressions in Spanish.)