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Which would you expect to hear, or which would you use?

He's a man of much brains.
He's a man of much brain.

I can't say I care for either. But in your context as well as in mine:

You don't need much brains to do this.

You don't need much brain to do this.

The first sounds more like kidneys: a bit butcher-like*.

The second sounds more abstract.

* I don't mean more butch

I thought brains was better: this job requires brains. This job requires much stamina, much patience, much brains. Maybe much sounds strange: this job requires a lot of stamina, patience, and brains.

Maybe much sounds strange: this job requires a lot of stamina, patience, and brains.

Does "much" sound strange with "brain"?

And does "a bear of little brain" sound odd to anyone here?

"A bear of little brains" would be the odd one - it would sound like he had two small brains in his skull!

I agree with Juan that You don't need much brains to do this sounds like a recipe.

lolwhites wrote:
I agree with Juan that You don't need much brains to do this sounds like a recipe.

To me too, but apparently AmEng speakers use the plural form

How about these?

a man of much courage
a man of much spunk
a woman of much intellect
a woman of much influence
a man of much political experience
a woman of much resolution
a topic of much debate
a boy of much promise
a girl of much beauty
a mother of much character
a woman of much consequence
a boy of much energy
a statement of much emphasis
a decision of much hope
a river of much water
a time of much change
a day of much light
an issue of much ado
a time of much import

To me too, but apparently AmEng speakers use the plural form

I wondered about that, but I didn't say anything, cause I didn't want to be seen as possessing over such differences again.

jotham wrote:

To me too, but apparently AmEng speakers use the plural form

I wondered about that, but I didn't say anything, cause I didn't want to be seen as possessing over such differences again.

Stop whining.