A slang contraction of BRUMMAGEM; attrib. ‘counterfeit, not genuine.’
[1862. Cornh. Mag., Nov., 643 (Hoppe). We have just touched for a rattling stake of sugar [i.e., a large stake of money] at Brum.]
1881. Standard, 27 Sept., 2/1. The Lobster Smack, the house of call for the ‘brum’—i.e., unlicensed—pilots, who are patronised by captains objecting to the higher dues charged by the regular Trinity House men at Gravesend…. Beside the fire is seated one of the ‘brum’ pilots, quietly smoking, before turning in for the night.
