brownie

Everyday

1. A small square of rich, soft chocolate cake, often with nuts. tree →
2. A Brownie: a younger member of the Girl Guides or Girl Scouts. tree →
3. (folklore) A small kind elf that secretly helps with housework at night. tree →
4. Brownie points (informal): imaginary credit for doing something to please someone. tree →

In the lessons

In everyday life brownies are a favourite bake; in maths, a tray of brownies is cut into equal pieces for fractions and sharing (a tray cut into 4 rows of 6 makes 24 brownies). Phrases: a tray of brownies, brownie points, join the Brownies.

Examples

• Mum baked a tray of chocolate brownies. tree →
• We cut the tray into 24 brownies. tree →
• My sister goes to Brownies on Tuesday nights. tree →
• If 3 children share 12 brownies, each gets 4. tree →
• Doing the dishes will earn you brownie points. tree →
• In the old story, a brownie cleaned the kitchen while the family slept. tree →
• ‘It is I, the brownie of the lake,’ replied the voice. tree →

Note

Brownie as a group member takes a capital B. Brownie points are not real points. In maths, a tray cut into rows and columns has rows × columns pieces.