poison-pen letter

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There’s something instructive in that failure, and it speaks to the raging confusion, verging on incoherence, at the heart of “Babylon” — namely, its insistence on being both a poison-pen letter and a valentine, a decadent celebration and a politically conscious corrective.

From Los Angeles Times

When the MacArthur Foundation was considering McPherson for the first of its “genius” grants, in 1981, Ellison wrote the foundation a poison-pen letter decrying McPherson’s “current restlessness,” and blaming his putative failures on “a condition of shock brought on by a long-delayed social mobility suddenly achieved,” while recommending others for the honor.

From The New Yorker

A college student must prevent an impending disaster when he erroneously sends a poison-pen letter to his girlfriend.

From Los Angeles Times

Lennon’s poison-pen letter targeting his former band mate, Paul McCartney.

From Los Angeles Times

Just one year later, Truman was a thinner-skinned president and father when he sent a poison-pen letter to The Post’s music critic Paul Hume for his harsh review of Margaret’s singing.

From Washington Post