Idiom
poison pen
Meaning
A manner, means, or tone of expression had by a written work, characterized by spitefulness, defamation, and/or intimidation directed toward a person, organization, or point of view.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“He received a poison pen letter full of cruel lies.”
“The politician was shocked to find a poison pen note left on his desk, filled with hateful accusations from an anonymous source.”
“The journalist was known for her poison pen style, frequently using her column to systematically destroy the reputations of those who dared to disagree with her.”
Examples
simple
“He received a poison pen letter full of cruel lies.”
contextual
“The politician was shocked to find a poison pen note left on his desk, filled with hateful accusations from an anonymous source.”
complex
“The journalist was known for her poison pen style, frequently using her column to systematically destroy the reputations of those who dared to disagree with her.”
Key words
Related idioms
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