Definition

Noun: - A type of inexpensive magazine printed on low-quality paper: A "pulp magazine" refers to a periodical publication, typically containing popular fiction genres like detective, science fiction, or adventure stories, which was mass-produced cheaply using coarse, wood-pulp paper.

Usage

• Primary Usage: The term is used to describe a specific historical category of magazines known for their affordable price and sensational content.
  • He collected old pulp magazines from the 1930s featuring space opera stories.
  • Many famous science fiction writers got their start writing for pulp magazines.

Advanced Usage

• Cultural/Historical Reference: The term often evokes a specific era (roughly the first half of the 20th century) and a particular style of storytelling.
  • The film's aesthetic was heavily inspired by the lurid covers of pulp magazines.
• As a Modifier: The word "pulp" from this context is often used adjectivally to describe a similar style in other media.
  • It was a pulp adventure novel, full of action and two-dimensional characters.

Variants and Related Words

• Pulp (noun, uncountable): The cheap paper made from wood pulp used for these magazines; by extension, the genre of literature published in them.
  • The story was pure pulp, but it was an exciting read.
• Pulp fiction (noun phrase): A genre of fast-paced, sensational fiction, originally published in pulp magazines; also the title of a famous film.
  • The bookstore had a special section for pulp fiction.

Synonyms

• Dime novel: A similarly inexpensive, sensational novel.
• Penny dreadful (chiefly British): A cheap, sensational publication of the 19th century, a precursor to pulp magazines.

Related Idioms/Phrases

• (To be) straight out of the pulps: Used to describe something that resembles the clichéd, sensational style of pulp magazine stories.
  • The plot was straight out of the pulps: a detective, a femme fatale, and a stolen diamond.

Noun

1. an inexpensive magazine printed on poor quality paper