Lol. Well Steve, am guessing we run in different circles (and that’s ok) I hear ‘brill’ on the ‘daily’…or every day. I do agree, ‘amazing’ is quite over used both here in the UK and in the US.
I recall first hearing ‘brilliant’ as a reference to exceptional intelligence in the 1970s.
In 1986, London band ‘Furniture’ released Brilliant Mind.
Are Brillo pads (soap-filled steel wool pot scourers) a thing in the US?
Yes, they are indeed Nick – I have some Brillo pads in the cupboard under my sink in San Diego. I don’t think of Brilliant as a Britishism per se, more the word being used more heavily in the UK than the US, much like “Awesome” but the other way around.
notoneoffbritishisms.com 
Very true- the Brits say ‘brilliant’ all the time- although more often than not it is shortened to ‘bril.’ Big words? Who needs ’em? 😉
I haven’t heard “brill” for years! lol
It used to mean very intelligent.
“Amazing” is over used as well!
Lol. Well Steve, am guessing we run in different circles (and that’s ok) I hear ‘brill’ on the ‘daily’…or every day. I do agree, ‘amazing’ is quite over used both here in the UK and in the US.
I recall first hearing ‘brilliant’ as a reference to exceptional intelligence in the 1970s.
In 1986, London band ‘Furniture’ released Brilliant Mind.
Are Brillo pads (soap-filled steel wool pot scourers) a thing in the US?
Yes, they are indeed Nick – I have some Brillo pads in the cupboard under my sink in San Diego. I don’t think of Brilliant as a Britishism per se, more the word being used more heavily in the UK than the US, much like “Awesome” but the other way around.
Brilliant is used very much in isarccastic speech as in ‘Brilliant just f***** brilliant!’