dime novel

Thân thiện

A young boy reads a dime novel under a tree.

Definition

Noun: A cheaply produced, sensational, and melodramatic paperback novel, originally sold for ten cents (a dime) in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These stories were known for their fast-paced, often formulaic plots involving adventure, romance, or crime.

Usage

The term "dime novel" is used to refer to a specific historical type of popular literature. It often carries a connotation of being lowbrow, mass-produced, and designed purely for entertainment rather than literary merit.

Examples

Advanced Usage

• As a cultural reference: The term is often used metaphorically to describe any modern story, situation, or news report that is seen as overly sensational, simplistic, or melodramatic.
  • The politician's scandal was straight out of a dime novel, complete with secret meetings and coded messages.

Variants and Related Words

• Penny dreadful (noun): A British term for a similar type of cheap, sensational fiction popular in the 19th century.
• Pulp magazine / pulp fiction (noun): A 20th-century successor to the dime novel, referring to inexpensive magazines and books printed on rough "pulp" paper, featuring similar sensational genres.

Synonyms

• Potboiler: A creative work produced quickly to make money.
• Shocker: A sensational story intended to shock or excite.
• Melodrama: A dramatic work characterized by exaggerated emotions and stereotypical characters.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• Straight out of a dime novel: Used to describe an event or story that seems unrealistically dramatic, clichéd, or sensational.
  • His account of the adventure was so full of clichés it sounded straight out of a dime novel.

Học thuật

Noun

1. a melodramatic paperback novel

Từ đồng nghĩa

• penny dreadful