chick lit
2
7.1
- noun
- /ʧɪk lɪt/
- Jargon
:
literatura femenina
- This summer, I plan to pick up a new chick lit book that my friend recommended.
- chick lit novel
- Irish chick lit
- chick lit heroines
These might be chick lit, ladlit, celebrity books, or young adults.
- These might be chick lit, ladlit, celebrity books, or young adults.
Examples
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Many young women find comfort in chick lit novels that explore friendship and love.
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I enjoy reading chick lit because it always has relatable characters and funny situations.
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Irish chick lit, however, did not wait for Ireland to be ready.
Academic text (2011) -
I see that "chick lit" is defined as "literature that appeals to young women."
Blog text (25) -
My best friend, who is very girly... a great character for a chick lit book!
Blog text (24) -
Our chick lit heroines are all too aware of this change in expectations for women.
Academic text (2011) -
Speaking in terms of typical chick lit, for instance, romance is one aspect of the genre that is almost always commented upon.
Academic text (2011) -
Irish chick lit heroines recognize the lack of choices their mothers and grandmothers had available to them.
Academic text (2011) -
If chick lit and popular fiction in general were once dismissed as silly and superficial, then Irish chick lit writers are breaking that mold.
Academic text (2011) -
Chick lit is also recognized for the sense of humor evident in the novels; although various novels may use humor to varying degrees, chick lit always has a funny tone and the characters don't take themselves too seriously, no matter how dire the circumstances.
Academic text (2011)
How Feminine
- Jargon
2
7.1
106
3.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a genre of literature for young women' is directly derivable from combining 'chick' (colloquial young woman) with 'lit' (short for literature). This is a productive, compositional label (X-lit = literature for X) so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can reliably infer the MWE's meaning, though they should note the informal/colloquial tone.
Etymology
Chick lit may come from joining the word chick, a casual word for a young woman, and lit, a short form of 'literature'. These words create the picture of light, often funny books about young women's lives, so chick lit now means 'light, often humorous fiction aimed at young women'.