<s>
Brownie	B-General_Concept
points	I-General_Concept
in	O
modern	O
usage	O
are	O
an	O
imaginary	O
social	O
currency	O
,	O
which	O
can	O
be	O
acquired	O
by	O
doing	O
good	O
deeds	O
or	O
earning	O
favor	O
in	O
the	O
eyes	O
of	O
another	O
,	O
often	O
one	O
's	O
spouse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Purportedly	O
,	O
the	O
collection	O
of	O
these	O
"	O
brownie	B-General_Concept
points	I-General_Concept
"	O
eventually	O
evolved	O
into	O
the	O
modern	O
usage	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
American	O
railroad	O
employees	O
soon	O
began	O
referring	O
colloquially	O
to	O
"	O
brownie	B-General_Concept
points	I-General_Concept
"	O
,	O
and	O
at	O
some	O
point	O
,	O
the	O
term	O
entered	O
the	O
general	O
vocabulary	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	B-Application
Oxford	I-Application
English	I-Application
Dictionary	I-Application
conjectures	O
that	O
this	O
expression	O
could	O
also	O
have	O
derived	O
from	O
U.S.	O
military	O
slang	O
for	O
sycophants	O
,	O
"	O
brown-nosers	O
"	O
,	O
while	O
also	O
mentioning	O
the	O
popular	O
etymology	O
that	O
derives	O
it	O
from	O
the	O
awards	O
system	O
of	O
the	O
Brownies	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
earliest	O
published	O
citation	O
given	O
in	O
the	B-Application
Oxford	I-Application
English	I-Application
Dictionary	I-Application
dates	O
from	O
1963	O
(	O
when	O
it	O
was	O
reported	O
in	O
the	O
journal	O
American	O
Speech	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
term	O
is	O
in	O
fact	O
somewhat	O
older	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
frequent	O
appearance	O
in	O
newspapers	O
in	O
the	O
1950s	O
date	O
back	O
to	O
the	O
earliest	O
known	O
usage	O
in	O
1951	O
,	O
where	O
a	O
man	O
in	O
the	O
Los	O
Angeles	O
Times	O
speaks	O
of	O
earning	O
favor	O
with	O
his	O
wife	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
brownie	B-General_Concept
points	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
