- For alternate uses, see: brownie (disambiguation)
A signature Cox Brownie
A brownie is a legendary kind of elf popular in folklore around England and Scotland. He is the British counterpart of the Scandinavian tomte, the Russian domovoi or the German Heinzelmaennchen. Customarily they are said to inhabit houses and aid in tasks around the house. However, brownies do not like to be seen and will only work at night, perhaps in exchange for small gifts or food. They usually abandon the house if their gifts are called payments, or if they are offered gifts of clothes (no matter how shabby their own clothes are). In some stories, brownies have no noses.
Brownies were popularized in the humoristic poems of Canadian artist and author Palmer Cox.
By extension, the name of Brownies was given to the junior branch of the Girl Guides (American Girl Scouts).
When a person does nice favors for another (especially for an authority figure), the person can be said to earn brownie points, a phrase which seems to have originated from the reward system used in the Girl Guides' junior branch.
The Cleveland Browns are often called the Brownies by their fans and used a brownie elf as an official mascot from their beginings in 1946 until owner Art Modell phased it out in the mid-1960's. It was revived on a limited basis by the Browns since the team returned in 1999. During the 2004 Season, The Brownie appeared on the Team's sideline ponchos and equipment trunks and there are stories about the Browns making more use of it for the 2005 Season.
The House Elves featured in the Harry Potter series have characteristics of brownies.
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