From low and brow, Americanism, circa 1902. Refers to the (by that time discredited) pseudoscience of phrenology, which suggested that a person of low intelligence and sophistication would possess a lower brow-line than someone of greater intelligence and sophistication.
- Unsophisticated, not intended for an audience of intelligence, education or culture.
- The Three Stooges are known for their lowbrow slapstick humor consisting of foolish action for the masses.
lowbrow (plural lowbrows)
- ESC, 2003. Re:highbrow, middlebrow, lowbrow, The Phrase finder.
- Robert Hendrickson, 1997. Encyclopedia of Word and Phrase Origins (New York: Facts on File)