penny dreadful en · NOUN
Etymology
From its low price and the lower-class British use of dreadful (“sensationalized crime reporting”).
Meanings
-
A cheap paperback book, particularly those concerning lurid depictions of crime in the Victorian era.
They can read the ‘penny dreadful’, but they cannot darn their stockings or mend their shoes.
1861 July 29, North American Review
- Pulp fiction: stories written in the lurid style of the penny dreadfuls.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| penny dreadfuls | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
penny-dreadfulish · penny-dreadfulism