brown study

n.
A state of deep thought.

[BROWN, gloomy + STUDY, mental state.]

(broun STUD-ee)

noun
A state of deep absorption in thought.

Etymology
Apparently from brown in the sense of gloomy.

Usage
"Tyler has also tendered us two near masterpieces, The Accidental Tourist and Saint Maybe (1991), the first tragicomic leaning toward tragic, the second a brown study of duty, redemption, and, to quote Emily Dickinson, `that pale sustenance, Despair!'" — Katharine Whittemore, Ordinary People, The Atlantic Monthly (Boston), May 2001.

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noun

The condition of being so lost in solitary thought as to be unaware of one's surroundings: absent-mindedness, abstraction, bemusement, daydreaming, muse, reverie, study, trance. See awareness/unawareness.

Note: click on a word meaning below to see its connections and related words.

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: a state of deep absorption or thoughtfulness

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