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A.Word.A.Day--brown study brown study (broun STUD-ee) noun A state of deep absorption in thought. [Apparently from brown in the sense of gloomy.] "Tyler has also tendered us two near masterpieces, The Accidental Tourist and Saint Maybe (1991), the first tragicomic leaning toward tragic, the second a brown study of duty, redemption, and, to quote Emily Dickinson, `that pale sustenance, Despair!'" Katharine Whittemore, Ordinary People, The Atlantic Monthly (Boston), May 2001. This week's theme: words with color as metaphors. X-Bonus By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest. -Confucius, philosopher and teacher (c. 551-478 BCE)

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