Editor's Corner

Good morning, folks!

One of you asked me about a couple of idioms the other day. One idiom, about hash houses or opium dens, is going to remain unanswered. The other idiom, “Where did the term ‘brownie points’ come from?” is a little more work appropriate, depending on who you ask.

Amazingly enough, there are several answers about where the idiom might come from. I will do my best to relay the different possibilities. This information is from Phrase Finder. The basic definition is “an imaginary award given to someone who does good deeds or tries to please.” (Note: The term is generally used in a humorous way. The “award” is imaginary, after all.)

Examples:

• Judd said that he will earn brownie points with his mom if he takes the trash out every day. Maybe she will let him go to the concert if he does it for the next two weeks.
• The sales team earned brownie points with the clients by passing out gifts at the user conference.

Now, let’s look at some of the possible histories.

Railroads

Though the writer of the article mentions this, he then shoots down the possibility that brownie points started here. From 1886 and on, it was the rumored practice of a New York State Superintendent (G.R. Brown) to issue merits for good behavior. These would’ve been “Brown points,” though, not “brownie points,” and there isn’t anything recorded that confirms the story.

Girl Scouts

The youngest of the girl scouts (7–10 years old) are called the Brownies. I tried out for the Camp Fire Girls (Bluebirds), but I was kicked out for lying. (Eight years old and I was lying, cutting class, and riding the short bus home with the kindergartners. I behaved better after that.) Anyway, the Girl Scout Brownies were named after pixies in Scottish folklore. The brownies were good little imps who did housework while the homeowners slept. In real life, Brownies and Girl Scouts receive badges for learning skills, contributing to the community, and doing good deeds. Somehow these badges might have changed into “Brownie points.”

Publishing

A publishing company gave delivery boys vouchers called greenies and brownies. (Five greenies equal one brownie.) Again, there is no recording of the vouchers being called “brownie points.”

Photography

Kodak had a Brownie Camera Club in 1900, where kids learned how to use the Brownie box camera, but while kids could send in photos for cash prizes, there were no brownie points associated with the experience.

Food Rationing

During WWII, you were given a number of “points” to use for the food you bought. The example the writer gives is for meat, where red or brown points were used. From Phrase Finder, “Grade A Lambs Legs – 6 red or brown points per lb. (37 cents).”

American Military Slang

How do I put this? The army didn’t refer to brownie points, they referred to “brown nosing” and even worse. Essentially, doing everything you could, the lewder the better, to put yourself in someone’s good graces.

Conclusion

Of all of these possibilities, the most plausible is that the phrase comes from the Girl Scout Brownies. You’ve got the term “brownie” right in the name, the name comes from creatures doing nice things, and the Brownies are taught to earn badges doing good deeds.

Right now, I’m too short on energy to try to earn brownie points. I could definitely use a nice, chocolatey baked good, though, and I’m not talking about Girl Scout cookies!

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory

Pronouns: she/her | Call via Teams | jackhenry.com

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