ˈcopper-ˌbottomed, a.
[parasynthetic comb. f. copper bottom.]
Having the bottom covered or sheathed with copper. Also fig. thoroughly sound, genuine, authentic, trustworthy.
Spec. of ships, as a protection against the destruction of the planks by the teredo, and the accumulation on the surface of shells and weeds which retard the ship's motion. First applied to ships of the British navy in 1761.
| 1795 Hull Advertiser 23 May 2/1 The copper-bottomed ship Ann. 1796 Pearson in Phil. Trans. LXXXVI. 451 This effect of copper upon the iron bolts and nails, in copper-bottomed ships. 1807 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 170 The copper-bottomed angel at Messrs. Paff's in Broadway. 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay xix, The wreck proved to be a..copper-bottomed schooner. 1890 Farmer Slang s.v. A 1, In mercantile circles, the expression has become popularly current, in a figurative sense, to signify the highest commercial credit; and..first-class; first-rate. The form varies, being rendered by..A 1 copper-bottomed, [etc.]. 1894 Stevenson & Osbourne Ebb-Tide ii. vii, The real, first-rate, copper-bottomed aristocrat. 1937 A. Calder-Marshall in C. Day Lewis Mind in Chains 73 The attitude can then be adopted: ‘..We are moderates. Good, solid, honest to God, copper-bottomed capitalists.’ 1961 Times 9 Nov. 16/2 The genuine copper-bottomed novel-reader's novel is becoming a rare article. |