Informal A creation of one's brain; an original idea or innovation of a person or group of people, an organization, etc.
The entire project was the brainchild of a small group of visionaries.
A brayne-child o' mine ovvne! and I am proud on't!1629 (first performance), B[en] Jonson, The New Inne. Or, The Light Heart. […], London: […] Thomas Harper, for Thomas Alchorne, […], published 1631, →OCLC, Act I, scene i, signature B, recto:
4 more examples
I am glad you find so many lovers of your brain children in the West, although I knew it would be so.1877 July 3 (date written), Thomas J. Mumford, “Editorial Life. [Letter to Mrs. W.]”, in Life and Letters of Thomas J. Mumford, […], Boston, Mass.: George H. Ellis, […], published 1879, →OCLC, page 110:
Then, gradually, the almost maternal yearning to see his brain-child [a play] once more, which can never be wholly crushed out of a young dramatist, returned to him—faintly at first, then getting stronger by degrees till it could no longer be resisted. True, he knew that when he beheld it, the offspring of his brain would have been mangled almost out of recognition, but that did not deter him.1920 April 10 – August 28, Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, chapter 17, in The Little Warrior [Jill the Reckless], New York, N.Y.: George H[enry] Doran Company, published 8 October 1920, →OCLC, section 1, page 312:
Inspiration's old lady gave birth to a new brainchild one afternoon at a Rhythm Kings rehearsal, when I took a few choruses on Jack Pettis' C-melody sax while he was out humoring his bladder.1946, Milton “Mezz” Mezzrow, Bernard Wolfe, “Quit Foolin’ with That Comb”, in Really the Blues, New York, N.Y.: Random House, book 1 (1899–1923: A Nothin’ but a Child), page 54:
We had these people for years and years, such as Mr. [Robert] McNamara and all of his brainchilds, come up here, and he said everything is going to work out fine and everybody followed him. Look what a mess we got into in Southeast Asia.1975 May 14, Otto E[rnest] Passman, chairman, “International Development Association”, in Foreign Assistance and Related Agencies Appropriations for 1976: Hearings before a Subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety-fourth Congress, First Session … Part 1 …, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, →OCLC, page 728:
brainchild
verb
Etymology From brain + child.
1
Rare To think up (an idea or innovation); to come up with.
John Law brainchilded the establishment of a national bank to expedite and secure the creation of credit.2014, Mary Lindemann, “Virtuous commerce”, in The Merchant Republics: Amsterdam, Antwerp, and Hamburg, 1648–1790, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 257: