What does the phrase 'brass cheek' mean?

Question

I'm from Canada originally and I'm a bit lost on slang used in the UK. I heard this phrase today, as in "the outrageous brass cheek of him', and I'm not sure what it means.

Answer 1

In that context 'brass' is a qualifier meaning blatant. It's a variant of the the more common 'brazen' mainly used in the north of England, although both have fallen out of common use with the increasing use of 'bloody', which not even Yahoo!Answers seems to censor now.

The etymology is a bit obscure, but seems to come from the metal (or alloy) being hard, shiny and polished, but with a strong hint of being a alliterative euphemism for 'bloody'.

'Cheek' in this context is rudeness such as 'answering back' or 'taking liberties'.  

Answer 2

The expression is "brass neck" .

John stole my wallet today when Jack was in the room, what a brass neck - cheek, nerve etc.

Answer 3

Brass NECK is an old northern saying, whick means they are tactless.