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highbrow
1. adjective Of or pertaining to heightened intellectualism or superior learning or culture; especially erudite or sophisticated; appealing or suited to highbrows. The film is by no means highbrow, but it has an intelligent enough story and some compelling characters. After two degrees in literature, Stanley insists on reading only highbrow books.
2. noun A person who has or affects heightened intellectualism or superior learning or culture, often in a pretentious or elitist manner. Of course, a book like this won't be given the time of day by literary highbrows, but it nevertheless provides an engaging and—dare I say it—entertaining read.
highbrowed
Of or pertaining to heightened intellectualism or superior learning or culture; especially erudite or sophisticated; appealing or suited to highbrows. The film is by no means highbrowed, but it has an intelligent enough story and some compelling characters. After two degrees in literature, Stanley insists on reading only highbrowed books.
with the sweat of (one's) brow
Through or because of one's own efforts or hard work. With the sweat of his brow, my father turned a barren, fallow little plot of land into the flourishing farm you see today. This pair of entrepreneurs has created a billion-dollar company with the sweat of their brows.
the sweat of (one's) brow
One's own personal efforts or hard work. It's due to the sweat of my father's brow that a barren, fallow little plot of land was transformed into the flourishing farm you see today. This pair of entrepreneurs has created a billion-dollar company by the sweat of their brows.
by the sweat of one's brow
Fig. by one's efforts; by one's hard work. Tom raised these vegetables by the sweat of his brow. Sally polished the car by the sweat of her brow.
knit one's brow
to cause one's brow to wrinkle. Bob knitted his brow when he was confused. Jane knitted her brow because she was angry.
knit your brows
(literary) to move your eyebrows (= the hair above your eyes) closer together when you are worried or thinking carefully Sasha knitted her brows as she listened to the storm forecast.
by the sweat of your brow
(literary) if you earn the money that you use to live on by the sweat of your brow, you earn it yourself, by doing hard, often physical work A decent, hard-working man, he supported his family by the sweat of his brow.
by the sweat of one's brow
By hard work, as in The only way he'll succeed is by the sweat of his brow. This figurative usage appears in the Bible (Genesis 31:9), where Adam's punishment for eating fruit in Eden is "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread"-that is, he will have to work for his bread, or living. [c. 1600]
cause raised eyebrows
Also, raise eyebrows. Cause surprise or disapproval, as in At school his purple hair usually causes raised eyebrows. This transfer of a physical act (raising one's eyebrows) to the feelings it may express took place in the early 1900s. Lytton Strachey used the term in The Eminent Victorians (1918): "The most steady-going churchman hardly raises an eyebrow at it now."
highbrow
1. n. an intellectual person; a person with refined tastes. (see also
longhair.)
The highbrows usually congregate in there. 2. mod. having to do with an intellectual or a person with refined tastes. Pete is sort of highbrow, but he’s an okay guy.
no-brow
n. a stupid person. (Patterned on lowbrow.) Sam is a complete no-brow. No culture, no sense of style, and no money.
sweat of (one's) brow
Hard work: landscaped the yard by the sweat of my brow.