verse-monger
Definition
Noun: A "verse-monger" is a writer of trivial, poor, or inferior poetry. The term is often used disparagingly to describe a poet who produces verses of low quality, typically in large quantity or with a mechanical, unskilled approach.
Usage Examples
- (A writer of bad or trivial poetry.)
- (A poet known for producing low-quality work in abundance.)
Advanced Usage
- "to be a verse-monger": to be habitually engaged in writing poor or hackneyed poetry.
- After years of writing greeting-card rhymes, she was labelled a verse-monger by the literary community. (She was seen as a producer of trivial verse.)
Variants and Related Words
- Versifier (n): a person who writes verses, often without artistic merit; a synonym for verse-monger.
- The local paper’s versifier produced a poem for every holiday, but none were memorable. (A writer of routine or poor poetry.)
- Monger (n): a dealer or trader in a specified commodity (e.g., fishmonger, gossipmonger); in "verse-monger," it implies a peddler of verse.
Synonyms
- Poetaster: a person who writes inferior poetry.
- Rhymer: a writer of rhymes, especially poor ones.
- Doggerel-writer: a composer of trivial, irregular, or badly written verse.
Related Idioms
- Mongering verse: the act of producing or selling poor poetry as if it were a common trade.
- He was accused of mongering verse for profit, churning out sentimental rubbish. (Writing and selling low-quality poetry commercially.)