Synonyms

blood and thunder

American

noun

sensationalism, violence, or exaggerated melodrama.

a movie full of blood and thunder.

blood-and-thunder British

adjective

denoting or relating to a melodramatic adventure story

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of blood and thunder

First recorded in 1855–60

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Minow declaimed against what he called the “vast wasteland”: “a procession of game shows, formula comedies about totally unbelievable families, blood and thunder, mayhem, violence, sadism, murder, Western bad men, Western good men, private eyes, gangsters, more violence, and cartoons.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Watching parts of Spence's chat with Ferdinand, you can perhaps make easy assumptions about why a blood and thunder coach like Conte may not immediately take to Spence's more laidback demeanour off the pitch.

From BBC

Morgan says his team will bring "heart, soul, blood and thunder".

From BBC

Mainoo, meanwhile, rose above the blood and thunder with rare composure for one so young.

From BBC

There isn't the blood and thunder of South Africa, the champagne and swagger of France or the intricacies of Ireland.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023