or -awful, subs. phr. (colloquial).—A sensational story, newspaper, or print. [Published at a penny.]
See AWFUL, BLOOD-AND-THUNDER, and SHILLING SHOCKER.
1883. Daily News, 30 Jan., 5, 2. Persons of culture are apt to speak harshly of PENNY DREADFULS, as they call the novels which appear in cheap weekly journals.
1885. Daily Telegraph, 3 Oct. From whatever PENNY DREADFUL she had got the chloroform incident.
1891. Morning Advertiser, 18 March. The chairman said he must have been reading some PENNY DREADFULS or other low literature.
1892. Pall Mall Gazette, 17 Nov., 7, 2. A victim of the PENNY DREADFUL [Title].
