Emigration of highly skilled, professional people, to another country or organization

Apart from slaves, only about 4,000 foreigners entered the U.S. annually between 1800 and 1810. One reason for this slow pace was Britain's Passenger Act of 1803, which raised the cost of transatlantic tickets and served to discourage a brain drain of talented workers who might carry with them England's industrial secrets

A parte gli schiavi, tra il 1800 e il 1810 sono entrati negli Stati Uniti solo 4.000 stranieri all'anno. Un motivo per questo ritmo così lento, fu il Britain's Passenger Act del 1803, che aumentò il prezzo dei biglietti transatlantici scoraggiando così la fuga di cervelli di lavoratori qualificati che avrebbero potuto portare con sé i segreti industriali dell'Inghilterra

This expression was coined by the British immediately after World War II when they suffered a considerable loss of their professionals and skilled workers to other countries, especially to the U.S.A., which offered higher salaries and better working conditions