“Bricked” may be my new favorite word. As UrbanDictionary puts it, with characteristic verve:
To render your computer or other hardware useless, as useless as a brick. Or as a brick would be if you need a computer.
In part, it’s because the last few years have seen a veritable renaissance of bricked electronics, the WiiConnect Update of Doom, and now Apple’s Self-Spiting Revenge on iPhone unlocks.
In part, it’s because “bricked” carries echoes of “b0rked” an earlier and colorful term to much the same effect. But whereas “b0rked” brought to mind the failed Supreme Court nomination of Robert Bork, “bricked” gets a lot closer to the truth: you now own a very expensive brick.
But really, I love “bricked” because it’s a great example of verbing done right. “To brick” means “to turn into a brick”—the construction is both clearly right and also not a common pattern among nouns-turned-into-verbs. More often, “to X” means “to use an X”: direct, but also bland.
So here’s to “bricked,” and to all of my brothers and sisters who are suffering the agony of a bricked iPhone.