Study
Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt.
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I went to the study to study my study guide. My studied concentration did nothing to clarify the information, and I fell into a brown study as I studied material that made no sense to me.
So I studied on the idea of a cup of tea and the book I’m reading, and it seemed like a much better idea.
a brown study: discouragement
A brown study. What an interesting phrase. Here’s a little description:
Brown does refer to the colour, but it seems that in the late medieval period it could also mean no more than dark or gloomy and it was then transferred figuratively to the mental state. A study at that time could be a state of reverie or abstraction, a sense of the word that is long since obsolete.
And that’s all I have this morning.
Just Writing! 
I’ve learned something new; I’ve never heard of a brown study. 🙂
Do people use this expression currently or is it archaic, re: your definitions?
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It is archaic. It shows up in older literature, like Dickens or Austen, but I don’t think anyone uses it now.
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Brown study! Oh my, I think it’s more a matter of your age here, hon’. I hope that’s not a sensitive subject! Being 60, I realize that there are a lot of terms that I take for granted that “young” people have never heard. Some even my own children haven’t heard from me and are startled with when I use them. Brown study is a good one! I love definitions, too!
Judi
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Not a sensitive subject at all. I’m 70, and proud 🙂 My kids tell me I use archaic words and phrases sometimes. That’s okay with me 🙂
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It’s funny to me when my kids say something like that. Something I’ve said and heard all my life is suddenly an antique!
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I hope I’m around when my grandkids start making fun of the old-fashioned things THEIR parents say 🙂
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I never heard something about a brown study, and I´m not sure if I understood right! To study something what males no sense?
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Anie, it’s an old-fashioned phrase that I’ve come across in older literature, and it surfaced today with the prompt word being “study.” A brown study is a discouraging, rather melancholy mood.
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aha…: ) thank you, so you got me in the right mood today! ; )
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Perfect. Love the opening line – study as noun, verb and adjective – very clever. And enjoyed learning about a brown study too!
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Thanks, Sarah. I just can’t help myself. It’s the retired English teacher in me 🙂
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I think you were having fun with that!😁 I always enjoy learning about archaic or just rarely used meanings of words.
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I did have fun with it 🙂 Words are my chocolate!
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