agony aunt

Thân thiện

A woman writes a letter to an agony aunt for advice.

Definition

Noun: A person, typically a woman, who writes a newspaper or magazine column offering advice and sympathetic responses to readers who submit letters about their personal problems.

Usage

An "agony aunt" is a specific role in journalism. The term is used to refer to the columnist herself, not the column. It implies a tone of empathy and personal concern.

Examples

• Noun:
  • She has been the newspaper's trusted agony aunt for over a decade.
  • Many readers feel comfortable sharing their deepest secrets with their favorite agony aunt.

Advanced Usage

• The role is an institution in British and Commonwealth media. The male equivalent is sometimes called an "agony uncle," though the original term remains more common.
• The concept has expanded to include online advice columnists and podcast hosts who fulfill a similar function.

Variants and Related Words

• Agony column (n): The section of a publication featuring the advice and the readers' letters.
  • I always read the agony column first.
• Advice columnist (n): A more formal and gender-neutral term for an agony aunt or uncle.

Synonyms

• Advice columnist
• Dear Abby (a specific, famous American agony aunt whose name became a generic term)
• Counselor (in a journalistic context)

Related Idioms/Phrases

• To play agony aunt: To informally give someone sympathetic advice about a personal problem.
  • I'm not an expert, but I can play agony aunt if you need to talk.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a newspaper columnist who answers questions and offers advice on personal problems to people who write in