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- Dictionarypoison pen letter
noun
- 1. an anonymous letter that is libellous, abusive, or malicious.
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A poison pen letter (or poisoned pen letter[1]) is a letter or note containing unpleasant, abusive, or malicious statements or accusations about the recipient or a third party. It is usually sent anonymously, often by employing the ransom note effect to avoid exposing the author's handwriting.
The phrase “poison-pen letter” is a common idiom used to describe a malicious or defamatory written message. It is often associated with anonymous letters that are intended to harm the reputation or relationships of the recipient.
When Edith Swann (played by Olivia Colman) and fellow residents begin to receive threatening letters full of unintentionally hilarious profanities, foul-mouthed Irish migrant Rose Gooding (Jessie Buckley), is charged with the crime. The anonymous letters prompt a national uproar, and a trial ensues.
Mar 29, 2024 · The meaning of POISON-PEN is written with malice and spite and usually anonymously. How to use poison-pen in a sentence.
Jan 8, 2024 · In the early twentieth century one genre of anonymous letter became so prominent it was given a name: the “poison pen” letter. Coined in America, the term “poison pen” was first used in 1911 in a headline for an article in the Maryland Evening Post.
- Emily Cockayne
Poison-pen definition: composed or sent maliciously, as a letter, usually anonymously and for the purpose of damaging another's reputation or happiness. See examples of POISON-PEN used in a sentence.
Mar 10, 2020 · Rather, the instrument through which these poisons inflicted their damage was the pen—the so-called “poison pen” (a term which encompassed as well that click-clacking symbol of modern business efficiency, the typewriter). For these poisons were words —words which, like weapons of war, could not only hurt but in some cases kill.
