Brewer's: Commodity of Brown Paper

(A). Rubbish served as make-weight; worthless stock; goods palmed off on the inexperienced. In most auctions the buyer of a lot has a fair share of the commodity of brown paper. Rubbish given to supplement a loan.

“Here's young Master Rash! he's in for a commodity of brown paper and old ginger, nine-score and seventeen pounds [i.e. 197, a part of the advance being old ginger and brown paper].”

—Shakespeare: Measure for Measure, iv. 3.

Related Content Allusions Foreign Words and Phrases Latin and Greek Word Elements Names: Their Origins and Meanings Old Testament Names Mythology Ancient Greek Literature & Mythology The Bible (King James version) The Koran (translation by J. M. Rodwell) Shakespeare's Plays Tales from Shakespeare (Charles and Mary Lamb) Frequently Misspelled Words Frequently Mispronounced Words Easily Confused Words Writing & Language