Idiom idiom
poison-pen letter
Meaning
A missive which is malicious, insulting, and/or defamatory toward a person, organization, or point of view, especially one which is unsigned.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Examples
“The manager received a nasty poison-pen letter today.”
“The anonymous poison-pen letter accused the local shopkeeper of dishonest business practices, causing a scandal in the small town.”
“Despite the lack of a signature, the cruel tone of the poison-pen letter left no doubt that the author intended to destroy her professional reputation.”
Anchors to
Last updated August 10, 2026