dime novel
1
8.5
- noun
- /daɪm ˈnɑːvəl/
- Archaic
:
novela barata
- The bookstore had a large collection of old dime novels from the early 1900s, filled with thrilling adventures and dramatic plots.
- read dime novels
Examples
-
In the late 19th century, many readers eagerly awaited the next installment of their favorite dime novel featuring cowboys and outlaws.
-
Charley holds up a dime novel with a lurid cover showing a gentleman in a top hat protecting a woman with his body while firing two pistols at seven disheveled-looking Western types.
Fiction book (1993) -
You might even write her into one of those dime novels you write about the Colonel, there.
-
Jack pulls the dime novel from his back pocket.
Fiction book (1992) -
You don't read the dime novels?
-
Jack pulls out his old dog-eared dime novel and hands it to Les.
Fiction book (1992) -
The two remaining dime novels on the subject were published as part of Frank Tousey's library series in the mid-1880s.
Academic text (1995) -
He often indulged in reading dime novels under the covers, captivated by the sensational stories of heroes and villains.
Synonyms
1
9.5
A cheap short book that tells exciting, often scary stories
Surface Forms
Morphology
A B1 learner who knows 'dime' (a ten-cent coin) and 'novel' (a book) can plausibly infer that a 'dime novel' is an inexpensive or cheap book—so part of the meaning is compositional. However, the full, culturally specific sense (a sensational, cheaply produced popular genre from a particular historical period) is not fully predictable from the constituents alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
Dime novel: The name dime novel comes from how these books were sold in the late 1800s — they cost a dime, ten cents, and were cheap novels full of wild adventure. That's why the phrase now means 'a cheaply made, sensational book'.