yellowback

[ yel-oh-bak ]

noun
  1. (formerly) an inexpensive, often lurid, novel bound in yellow cloth or paper.

  2. a gold certificate.

Origin of yellowback

1
First recorded in 1790–1800; yellow + back1

Words Nearby yellowback

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use yellowback in a sentence

  • You saw what that fellow flashed, a twenty dollar yellowback, a word to Skippy and the Kennedy would follow.

    Skippy Bedelle | Owen Johnson
  • What a row was kicked up over Miss Braddon's "Octoroon," and what an impossible yellowback it was!

    The Delicious Vice | Young E. Allison