Heard on ESPN

[Garson O'Toole]

The OED does have good coverage that I missed. Apologies.

Draft additions October 2001
  slang. built like a brick shithouse and variants.
 a. orig. U.S. Chiefly of a man: having an extremely solid physique;
with a very robust and powerful build. In Brit. use, derogatory when
used of a woman.Occas. (in senses 4a   and 4b) abbreviated to brick
shithouse, etc., denoting a person of this build.

In earlier use a number of different buildings are used in analogy.
Later, once the form brick shithouse became standard, variants are
usually euphemistic.

[1903   A. H. Lewis Boss xiv. 183   That'll be enough to give us
th'Tammany bunch as solid as a brick switch shanty.]
1922   J. Tully Emmett Lawler 286   Every time I fight him my hands
are swollen for a week. He's built like a brick schoolhouse.
1936   J. Tully Bruiser 58   He's built like a brick barn.
1949   E. Birney Turvey 127   Built like brick shathouses they was too.
(Additional cites omitted)

b. U.S. Also freq. in form built like a brick house. Of a woman:
having a curvaceous figure, esp. slim with large, prominent breasts.
Also of a woman's figure.
1933   J. Conroy Disinherited ii. 91   Wilma's a baby doll, build like
a brick outhouse.
1964   R. F. Mirvish There you Are 222   The Sicilian babe... Small,
stacked like a brick shithouse.
(Additional cites omitted)

On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 11:06 PM, Garson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Garson O'Toole <adsgarsonotoole at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Heard on ESPN
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> The phrase "built like a brick shithouse" has been applied to men and
> women for decades. Apparently, it was applied to men first.
>
> OED Draft additions October 2001 under brick, n.1
>
>  brick house n.  [shortened < brick shithouse at Additions a, built
> like a brick shithouse at Additions; apparently popularized by the
> song of the same name (see quot. 1977)] U.S. slang a woman with a
> curvaceous figure, esp. slim with large, prominent breasts.
>
> 1977 L. Richie et al. Brick House (song, perf. ‘The Commodores’) 1
> That lady's stacked and that's a fact... Thirty six, twenty four,
> thirty six Oh, what a winning hand, 'cause she's a brick house.
>
> The invaluable Historical Dictionary of American Slang has an
> extensive entry. (OCR errors likely):
>
> built like a brick shithouse,
>
> 1. (of persons, usu. men) having a solid or powerful build - usu.
> considered vulgar. Also, vars. euphemisms.
>
> [1903 A.H. Lewis Boss 183: That'll be enough to give us th' Tammany
> bunch as solid as a brick switch shanty.]
>
> 1922 Tully Emmett Lawler 286: He's built like a brick schoolhouse.
>
> 1925 in Hemingway SeL Letters 151: The Blonde Bastard is built like a
> brick slaughterhouse and hits
> like a middle weight.
>
> 1928 in Hemingway SeL Letters 287: Pat has doubled his weight in three
> months...built like a brick shithouse. 1929-31
>
> 1929-31 Farrell Young Lanigan 122: They said she was built like a
> brick outhouse.
>
> (additional cites omitted)
>
>
> 2. (of women) having prominent breasts and slim hips.- usu. considered
> vulgar. Also vars. and euphemisms.
>
> 1933 J. Conroy Disinherited 91 [ref. to ca 1918]: Wilma's a baby doll,
> build like a brick outhouse.
>
> 1936 Monks & Finklehoffe Brother Rat 24: The doll was...stacked up
> like a brick...(Jenny appears in doorway) Hello, there, Jenny.
>
> 1944 Busch Dream of Home 144: She's put up like a brick outhouse.
>
> 1947 Willingham End as a Man. 74: She's...stacked up like a goddamn brick sh-.
>
> 1956 G. Metalious Peyton Pl. 158: It was the consensus of town opinion
> that Constance MacKenzie was built like a brick shit house.
>
> (additional cites omitted)
>
>
> On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 10:31 PM, Alice Faber <faber at haskins.yale.edu> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Alice Faber <faber at HASKINS.YALE.EDU>
>> Organization: Haskins Laboratories
>> Subject:      Re: Heard on ESPN
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> On 6/22/12 9:33 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:
>>> On Fri, Jun 22, 2012 at 1:22 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>> "... built like a chiseled brickhouse". That, of course, of Lebron James... The > comment has already caused a round of mockery on Twitter.
>>>
>>> What's the basis of the mockery? Memories of the old disco hit:
>>>
>>> "[_She's_ a] *Brick House*"?
>>
>> Steven A Smith's verbal excesses are frequently mocked on Twitter.
>>
>>
>> --
>> ========================================================================
>> Alice Faber                                       faber at haskins.yale.edu
>> Haskins Laboratories                            tel: (203) 865-6163 x258
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