brown study

IPA/bɹˈaʊn stˈʌdi/
IPA/bɹˈaʊn stˈʌdi/

brown study — 慣用語

1. a period when someone is so deeply focused on their own thoughts that they stop

1.慣用語B2
釋義

沉思；出神

沉浸思考而忽略周遭

a period when someone is so deeply focused on their own thoughts that they stop noticing the people or things around them

例句

The old librarian sat in a brown study, her fingers frozen mid-page for ten minutes.

老圖書館員陷入沉思，手指停留在書頁中間將近十分鐘未動。

be in a brown study + descriptive detail

Hoa was deep in a brown study at the café and missed her order being called twice.

Hoa 在咖啡館裡陷入沉思，以致服務生喊了兩次她的取餐號碼都沒聽見。

deep in a brown study + passive awareness

同義詞
  • reverie

    more poetic, often pleasant daydreaming; 'brown study' suggests heavier, more serious thought

  • contemplation

    more intentional and active; 'brown study' implies being lost in thought rather than deliberately thinking something through

  • trance

    stronger — suggests a near-unconscious state; 'brown study' is milder

文法句型

be in a brown study

fall into a brown study

用法筆記

This literary phrase is mostly found in written narratives or descriptive prose rather than casual conversation. The word 'brown' here is historical — it refers to a gloomy or shadowy quality of thought, not the color. 'Brown study' is almost always used with the indefinite article: 'a brown study', and commonly follows 'in', 'into', or 'out of'.

常見錯誤

❌I had a brown study this morning.
✅I was in a brown study this morning.
💡The idiom requires 'in a' or 'into a', not 'have a'.
❌She was in brown study thinking about her project.
✅She was in a brown study, thinking about her project.
💡The article 'a' is mandatory before 'brown study'.