penny dreadful
noun
a cheap, sensational novel of adventure, crime, or violence; dime novel.
penny dreadfuls
-
pluralof penny dreadful.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
Rocking horses, Hornby train sets, "penny dreadfuls", French tin soldiers, Muffin the Mule, spinning cones and Russian folk toys were crammed on to all available wall space.
From BBC ● Jan. 21, 2023
“Part of the theater of the ridiculous is social commentary, which also the penny dreadfuls did.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 4, 2022
They may not have the lurid illustrations associated with penny dreadfuls, but the supplementary visual assets on their websites are arguably just as visually arresting — and necessary to the format.
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2021
His fascination with crime was also influenced by his reading of penny dreadfuls from America and by Edgar Allan Poe’s stories of crime and detection.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 18, 2016
Tristran sat at the top of the spire of cloud and wondered why none of the heroes of the penny dreadfuls he used to read so avidly were ever hungry.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
