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| Colorful English! | ||||
| Word or Phrase: | Part of Speech: | Idiom or General?: | Usage? | Restricted? |
| brownout | noun | new common | fairly common | No |
| Meaning: | ||||
| a period of reduced voltage usually caused by high demand and causing reduced lighting levels | ||||
| Example(s): | ||||
| People do not want electric companies to use nuclear or polluting energy sources, and people do not want to reduce their usage, but they complain when brownouts occur. They should make up their minds! | ||||
| Note: This comes from the idea of a blackout. | ||||