i bara mässingen

Swedish
A silver-plated brass cup.
A woman "in just her brass".

Etymology

Literally, "in just the brass".

It used to be common practice to silver-plate brass objects to make a more valuable impression. With use, the silver wore away and the brass came out. This is probably the origin of the expression. [1]

Prepositional phrase

i bara mässingen

  1. (idiomatic) nude, stark naked, without any clothing
    Synonyms: naken, avklädd, blottad, i adamsdräkt, i evakostym, i naturtillstånd, i paradisdräkt, in naturalibus, nakot, naturell, näck, oklädd, som gud skapade en, spritt språngande, strippad, utan en tråd på kroppen
    "I bara mässingen besteg han en ryttarstaty nära premiärminister David Camerons kansli."
    "Stark naked, he climbed a equestrian statue near Prime Minister David Cameron's office."

References
  1. 1945, “Mässing”, in Svenska Akademiens Ordbok‎, retrieved 2020-12-01:
    uttr. syftar sannol. på försilvrade mässingsföremål med försilvringen mer l. mindre avnött, så att mässingen skiner igenom
    the term probably refers to silver-plated brass objects with the silver-plating more or less worn, so that the brass shines through
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