Middlebrow

Origin

By analogy with highbrow and lowbrow. The term first appeared in Punch (1925) and later was used by Virginia Wolf (1930's) in an unsent letter to the New Statesman, published as a chapter in the book "The Death of a Moth and Other Essays" (1942).

Full definition of middlebrow

Adjective

1. (pejorative) Neither highbrow or lowbrow, but somewhere in between.

Usage notes

Generally pejorative, implying pretension and vulgarity – aspiring and appropriating high culture, but not appreciating it. On occasion instead used positively.

Noun

1. A person or thing that is neither a highbrow or lowbrow, but in between.