poison-pen letter

poison-pen letter
A missive which is malicious, insulting, and/or defamatory toward a person, organization, or point of view, especially one which is unsigned.

Miss Theresa Samuels . . . is accused by the Post Office authorities of sending scurrilous letters to young women whose engagements to marry had been public announced. . . . Those who received the poison pen letters were not willing to court the notoreity that would follow the prosecution of the case.


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Look at other dictionaries:

  • poison pen letter — UK US noun [countable] [singular poison pen letter plural poison pen letters] a cruel or offensive letter that has not been signed Thesaurus: letters and types of letterhyponym …   Useful english dictionary

  • poison-pen letter — poison pen letters N COUNT A poison pen letter is an unpleasant unsigned letter which is sent in order to upset someone or to cause trouble …   English dictionary

  • poison-pen letter — n a letter that is not signed and that says bad things about the person it has been sent to …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • poison pen letter — poison pen ,letter noun count a cruel or offensive letter that has not been signed …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • poison pen letter — ► NOUN ▪ an anonymous letter that is libellous or abusive …   English terms dictionary

  • Poison pen letter — A poison pen letter is a letter or note containing unpleasant, abusive or malicious statements or accusations about the recipient or a third party. It is usually sent anonymously. Poison pen letters are usually composed and sent to upset the… …   Wikipedia

  • poison pen letter — UK / US noun [countable] Word forms poison pen letter : singular poison pen letter plural poison pen letters a cruel or offensive letter that has not been signed …   English dictionary

  • poison pen letter — noun an anonymous letter that is libellous, abusive, or malicious …   English new terms dictionary

  • poison-pen letter — noun (C) a letter that is not signed and that says nasty and unpleasant things about the person it has been sent to …   Longman dictionary of contemporary English

  • poison-pen letter — …   Useful english dictionary

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