chimney breast

a part of a chimney or fireplace that projects out from the wall, usually inside the building.

Origin of chimney breast

First recorded in 1835–45

She glided to the chimney-breast, searching it swiftly with her eyes and now with her hands.

Kincaid's Battery |George W. Cable
Ralph, from his corner by the chimney-breast, could see the faces of all the others.

The Squire's Daughter |Silas K(itto) Hocking
Set in the chimney-breast, over the mantel, was an oblong mirror.

The Continental Dragoon |Robert Neilson Stephens
A goat's head and the horns of an ox were the only ornaments of the chimney-breast, which was white-washed.

The Shadow of a Crime |Hall Caine

The contadina still lurched from the chimney-breast, and the Greek slave obstructed the threshold of the inner room.

The Early Short Fiction of Edith Wharton, Part 2 (of 10) |Edith Wharton

chimney breast

the wall or walls that surround the base of a chimney or fireplace