dime novel
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of dime novel
An Americanism dating back to 1860–65
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.
For fun: A late-19th-century dime novel offers advice on when not to marry.
From Slate • Jul. 15, 2016
Yet Lansdale has pulled out all the stops to deliver a rip-roaring tale completely in keeping with dime novel traditions and the cinematic hyperbole of "Blazing Saddles" or "Django Unchained."
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2015
One of Thompson's critics has called him without disparagement "a dime novel Dostoevsky" and there are elements of traditional tragedy in Lou's story of small-town desperation and madness.
From The Guardian • Jun. 5, 2010
Horatio Alger imagined for his self-made dime novel heroes no such dizzying climb to altitudes of power.
From Time Magazine Archive
A grimy dime novel protruded rakishly from his hip pocket, and his right cheek was swollen as with the toothache, due, probably, to a generous "chaw" of Seaman's Delight.
From The Million Dollar Mystery Novelized from the Scenario of F. Lonergan by MacGrath, Harold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
