brick wall

plural brick walls

1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see brick, wall. A wall made of bricks.
2. figurativelyAn obstacle.

   The investigators came up against a brick wall in their search for the missing money when they discovered it had been transferred overseas.

   1 more example

   They all ran up against the brick wall of high cost until the cryogenic option was proven feasible in 1973.

   1981, Donald D., William R. Corliss Baals, Wind Tunnels of NASA

3. sound engineeringA type of anti-aliasing filter with a steep cutoff.

   To reconstruct the sampled signal, an ideal brick wall filter is demanded to remove the output of band signal.

   2012, Steve Hung, Lung Tu, Analog Circuit Design for Communication SOC, →ISBN, page 184

   2 more examples

   One of the first problems with the digital audio process is the use of brick wall filters with very steep slopes for anti-aliasing and anti-imaging purposes.

   2005, Daniel M. Thompson, Understanding Audio, →ISBN

   For example, a first order filter can be converted to a brick wall filter by multiplying by the brick wall factor 1.57.

   2012, Art Kay, Operational Amplifier Noise, →ISBN

4. figurativelySomeone who is silent or unresponsive.

   When mama says she doesn't talk, she means it. She's a brick wall.

   1987, National Thespian Dramatic Honor Society for High Schools, Dramatics, volume 59, page 23

   2 more examples

   "Does he talk much? I mean, does he initiate conversation?" "No. He's a brick wall," I said.

   1992, Judith Caseley, My Father, The Nutcase, page 34

   Having uttered these benign assurances, Mr Burner III became a brick wall.

   1997, Edward R.F. Sheeran, Cardinal Galsworthy, page 182

present singular third person brick walls · participle present brick walling · participle past brick walled · past brick walled

1. To build a brick wall around.

   They forcefully imprisoned her in a decorative room and brick walled it.

   2013, Cyril A. Peters, Ignoble Imitation, →ISBN, page 98

2. sound engineeringTo filter using a brick wall filter.

   Audio recorded too quietly means that there is more opportunity for noise, even in today's digital workflow. Audio recorded too loud will distort in the analog world, and will simply "brick wall" in digital terms.

   2005, Douglas Spotted Eagle, Instant Digital Audio, →ISBN, page 77

3. To halt or limit abruptly.

   The driver stopped the cab on the spot, brick-walled it then and there.

   2012, Geoff Dyer, The Colour of Memory, →ISBN

   1 more example

   Baseball's unstoppable force -- the 2017 Los Angeles Dodgers -- ran smack into peak-form Verlander, who brick-walled their six-game winning streak.

   2017 August 21, Bradford Doolittle, “Justin Verlander's domination of Dodgers looked like Astros audition”, in ESPN

4. To be uncooperative and unresponsive.

   But he'd brick-walled her on something that obviously caused him pain.

   2017, Lauren Layne, Ready To Run: I Do, I Don't, →ISBN

   2 more examples

   They wanted to know how successful the attack had been. But you brick-walled them.

   2012, Donald Moffitt, A Gathering of Stars, →ISBN

   My rapid dial wouldn't work, and when I was finally able to get a Homeland Security office phone number to reach you, the receptionist brick walled me.

   2012, Virdean, Making the Rules, →ISBN