middlebrow

middlebrow
middlebrow 1911 (adj.), 1912 (n.), from MIDDLE (Cf. middle) + BROW (Cf. brow) (Cf. HIGHBROW (Cf. highbrow), LOWBROW (Cf. lowbrow)).
[T]here is an alarmingly wide chasm, I might almost say a vacuum, between the high-brow, who considers reading either as a trade or as a form of intellectual wrestling, and the low-brow, who is merely seeking for gross thrills. It is to be hoped that culture will soon be democratized through some less conventional system of education, giving rise to a new type that might be called the middle-brow, who will consider books as a source of intellectual enjoyment. ["The Nation," Jan, 25, 1912]

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • middlebrow — ☆ middlebrow [mid′ lbrou΄ ] n. a person regarded as having conventional, middle class tastes or opinions, and as being anti intellectual or pseudo intellectual adj. of or for a middlebrow …   English World dictionary

  • Middlebrow — The term middlebrow describes both a certain type of easily accessible art, often literature, as well as the population that uses art to acquire culture and class that is usually unattainable. First used by the British satire magazine Punch in… …   Wikipedia

  • middlebrow — mod. middle class; average or mediocre. (Between highbrow and lowbrow.) □ She has average middlebrow tastes and drives a mid sized Chevrolet. □ He’s just too middlebrow. □ There are some who look down on middlebrow interests as trivial …   Dictionary of American slang and colloquial expressions

  • middlebrow — [[t]mɪ̱d(ə)lbraʊ[/t]] also middle brow ADJ GRADED: usu ADJ n If you describe a piece of entertainment such as a book or film as middlebrow, you mean that although it may be interesting and enjoyable, it does not require much thought. ...such… …   English dictionary

  • middlebrow — noun Date: 1925 a person who is moderately but not highly cultivated • middlebrow adjective …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • middlebrow — mid|dle|brow [ˈmıdlbrau] adj middlebrow books, television programmes etc are of fairly good quality but are not very difficult to understand →↑highbrow, lowbrow ↑lowbrow …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • middlebrow — mid|dle|brow [ mıdl,brau ] adjective middlebrow books, television programs, and other forms of entertainment are those that most people like and understand, and are less simple than lowbrow ones and more simple than highbrow ones a. used about… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • middlebrow — adjective middlebrow books, television programmes etc are not very difficult to understand compare highbrow, lowbrow …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • middlebrow — UK [ˈmɪd(ə)lˌbraʊ] / US adjective a) middlebrow books, television programmes, and other forms of entertainment are those that most people like and understand, and are less simple than lowbrow ones and more simple than highbrow ones b) used about… …   English dictionary

  • middlebrow — adj. & n. colloq. adj. claiming to be or regarded as only moderately intellectual. n. a middlebrow person …   Useful english dictionary

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