chain letter en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- (US) audio
Meanings
-
A letter that can be mailed successively to different recipients, with each recipient ostensibly (but sometimes sarcastically) being instructed in the body of the letter to mail the letter to another person or persons.
By the second half of the 20th century, chain letters were ubiquitous enough to become a vector for scams, hoaxes, and viral lies. Chain pyramid schemes ran rampant through the U.S. mail system before they were made illegal in 1948.
2020 January 24, Kaitlyn Tiffany, “The Divine Origins of the Horny Chain Text”, in The Atlantic:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| chain letters | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Relateds
Translations (18)
nl kettingbrief (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · cmn 連環信 /连环信 (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · it catena di sant'antonio (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · pl łańcuszek (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · nn kjedebrev (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · ja チェーンメール (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · bg вери́жно писмо́ (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · th จดหมายลูกโซ่ (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · da kædebrev (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · nb kjedebrev (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · de Kettenbrief (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · ja チェーン・レター (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · he מִכְתָּב שַׁרְשֶׁרֶת (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · sv kedjebrev (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · ko 행운의 편지 (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · cmn 連鎖信 /连锁信 (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · ru письмо́ счастья (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients) · fi ketjukirje (a letter that is mailed successively to different recipients)