Demanding, involving, or characterized by only a moderate degree of intellectual effort; aimed at or appealing to the average educated person rather than intellectuals or the masses. Often used somewhat dismissively to describe culture that is accessible but not challenging.
Formed by analogy with 'highbrow' and 'lowbrow,' terms that originated from 19th-century phrenology (the belief that skull shape indicated intelligence). 'Middlebrow' emerged in the 1920s to describe cultural works that fell between elite intellectual culture and popular mass culture.
Think of it as the 'Goldilocks' of culture - not too high (intellectual), not too low (mass market), but just right for the educated middle class. It's like the cultural equivalent of a bestselling novel that's well-written but not difficult, or a museum that's informative but not academic. Often used with a slight sniff of disdain by true intellectuals!
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