# Brownie points **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 10, 2002, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brownie-points/141783 "2002-12-10T16:50:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brownie-points/141783/21 "2002-12-11T00:40:39Z")
Both my Random House and American Heritage dictionaries give the Girl Scout point system the credit for the phrase. **Reality Chuck** : the fact the that first written citation is from the 1960s doesn’t necessarily invalidate an earlier origin. A large number of words exist in the oral vocabulary before a written cite becomes available. I don’t say this is necessarily the case here, but a WWII origin is not impossible. Aha, on preview I see **samclem’s** post. Score one for wordorigins. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2002, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brownie-points/141783/22 "2002-12-11T01:29:49Z")
**Exapno** – you’re right that the first cite in the OED may be somewhat behind the origin of the word. However, a 20-year gap is unlikely. Plus the fact that the first cite is college slang makes a good deal of sense. After all, a college professor is in a position to award points to a brown-nosing student. Partridge says it actually dates back to 1908 in Canada, meaning “demerits.” He agrees that it’s a U.S. usage, though. I’ll have to look at Lightner. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brownie-points/141783.md?page=1)