First recorded in 1870–75
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The 19th century had a similar macabre popular fascination, the penny dreadful.
From Salon • Jan. 11, 2021
Conan Doyle wanted his protagonist to rise above the cheap thrills of the penny dreadful.
From The Guardian • Jan. 3, 2017
Van Helsing educates Victor in the ways of vampires with the help of a penny dreadful called “Varney the Vampire, or The Feast of Blood,” and then practically adopts the young doctor on the street.
From New York Times • Jun. 15, 2014
He refers to his adopted nephew as a “foundling,” as if this were a penny dreadful, which it kind of is.
From Slate • Jun. 13, 2012
On his bedside table were loose matches, unused stationery, a penny dreadful left facedown at the page he had stopped reading.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
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.
