E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Pinch’beck.
So called from Christopher Pinchbeck, a musical-clock maker, of Fleet Street. (Died 1732.) The word is used for Brummagem gold; and the metal is a compound of copper, zinc, and tin.
1
“Where, in these pinchbeck days, can we hope to find the old agricultural virtue in all its purity?”—Anthony Trollope: Framley Parsonage.
