pinchbeck

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an alloy of copper and zinc formerly used as an imitation of gold

   The cheap ornament was made of pinchbeck rather than gold.

2. 2
   adj

   sham, inferior, or falsely presented as valuable

   The critic dismissed the spectacle as pinchbeck grandeur.

Named after Christopher Pinchbeck, an 18th century London watchmaker who developed the alloy.

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