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• O. Henry
  O. Henry

  noun

  pen name of William Sydney Porter.
• Henry, O.
  Henry, O.

  A twentieth-century American author known for “The Gift of the Magi” and other short stories. He specialized in surprise endings. His real name was William Sydney Porter.

O. Henry

American  

[oh hen-ree] / oʊ ˈhɛn ri /

noun

1. pen name of William Sydney Porter.

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O. Henry British  

/ əʊ ˈhɛnrɪ /

noun

1. pen name of William Sidney Porter. 1862–1910, US short-story writer. His collections of stories, characterized by his use of caricature and surprising endings, include Cabbages and Kings (1904) and The Four Million (1906)

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Henry, O. Cultural  

1. A twentieth-century American author known for “The Gift of the Magi” and other short stories. He specialized in surprise endings. His real name was William Sydney Porter.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

O. Henry Henry, O.

American writer O. Henry, hiding in Honduras to avoid embezzlement charges back home, coined the term for such places: “banana republic External link.”

From Barron's ● Jan. 18, 2026

I feel like “Christmas Eve” has a slight O. Henry, “Gift of the Magi” element to it — another literary reference that hopefully the kids who watch “Frog and Toad” will read someday.

From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2023

“Winter Tales” Whitefire Theatre presents a reading of holiday-themes short stories and poetry by Robert Frost, O. Henry and others.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 11, 2020

She won acclaim for her poems and short stories such as “Big Blonde,” which won her the O. Henry Award for the best story of 1929.

From Washington Post ● Jul. 15, 2020

But it ends with a twist worthy of O. Henry.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

During Black History Month at West Point, honor is paid to Henry O. Flipper, a formerly enslaved man who became the academy’s first Black graduate in 1877.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 2, 2021

President Bill Clinton pardoned Henry O. Flipper, the first African-American officer to lead the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry Regiment during the Civil War; he was framed for embezzlement.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 8, 2018

Not long after, he presented Vice President Pence with a bust at the Henry O. Flipper Dinner, which is held annually in memory of West Point’s first African American graduate.

From Washington Post ● May 26, 2017

Tom and Libby had been high school sweethearts at Ichabod Crane High School in Valatie, N.Y., and Tom’s father, Henry O. Little Sr., was a noted ophthalmologist in Kinderhook, N.Y.

From New York Times ● Aug. 7, 2010

Henry, O., 143, 193, 194;  The Gift of the Magi, 143, 194.

From A Manual of the Art of Fiction by Hamilton, Clayton Meeker