For other meanings of brownie, See: Brownie (disambiguation)

Brownie points are a hypothetical currency, which can be accrued by doing good deeds or earning favor in the eyes of another, often one's superior.

Origins

---

The Oxford English Dictionary conjectures that this expression could also have derived from U.S. military slang for sycophants, "brownnosers", while mentioning the less-likely but popular etymology that derives it from the awards system of the Brownies Girl Guides/Girl Scouts. "Brownie" itself in the sense of "brown-noser" was in use in the 1940s.

The OED reports its first appearance in print as 1963, though the origins of the phrase predate this. Its frequent appearance in newspapers in the 1950s date back to the earliest known usage in 1951, where a man in the Los Angeles Times speaks of earning favor with his wife in terms of brownie points.

See also

---

• Whuffie
• Egoboo

External links

---

• World Wide Words on brownie points

References

---

• "Brownie, n. 1" The Oxford English Dictionary. 2nd ed. 1989. OED Online. Oxford University Press. Accessed 14 Jul 2005 (subscription access).