brown (redirected from Brown, John)

*brown as a berry

very brown from the sun; quite suntanned. (*Also: as ~.) She was out in the sun so much that she became as brown as a berry.

See also: berry

brown someone off

Sl. to make someone angry. (See also browned (off).) You really brown me off!

brown out

[for the electricity] to diminish in power and dim the lights, causing a brownout. (Something less than a blackout, when there is no power.) The power kept browning out. The lights started to brown out, and I thought maybe there was a power shortage.

See also: out

do something up brown

to do something just right or with great effect.(Fixed order.) Whenever they put on a party, they do it up brown. He was determined to cause a scandal, and he really did it up brown.

See also: up

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be as brown as a berry  (British & Australian)

if someone is as brown as a berry their skin has become much darker because of the effects of the sun She's as brown as a berry after a month in Greece.

See also: berry

brown-bagging  (American informal)

taking your own food, usually in a brown paper bag, to eat in the middle of the day when you are not at home We've stopped brown-bagging - it's too cold now to eat in the park.

brown-nose  (informal)

to try too hard to please someone, especially someone in a position of authority, in a way that other people find unpleasant The rest of the class were sick of watching him brown-nose.