potboiler

noun

pot·boil·er ˈpät-ˌbȯi-lər

: a usually inferior work (as of art or literature) produced chiefly for profit

Did you know?

Potboiler draws its meaning from what was once the heartbeat of the home, the hearth and its boiling pot. In the days before modern conveniences, it was essential to maintain a fire within a home's hearth for warmth and domestic activities. In order "to make the pot boil" or "to keep the pot boiling" for cooking, one needed fuel, and to acquire fuel one typically needed an income. When artistic and literary works, especially inferior ones, became the means of keeping the pot boiling in some homes during the 19th century, it didn't take long for the literati to criticize such works as insignificant potboilers.

Examples of potboiler in a Sentence

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Courtroom dramas are a mainstay of pulp fiction and Hollywood potboilers. —

Christie Wilcox, science.org, 27 Dec. 2024 Balancing business and pleasure exquisitely, watching Scandal is like indulging in a potboiler soap opera and political satire all at once. —

Chris Snellgrove, EW.com, 22 Dec. 2024 But Keefe’s story is no simple potboiler, and Say Nothing bears little resemblance to the typical true-crime drama. —

Judy Berman, TIME, 3 Dec. 2024 Pitting a Black liberal against a dangerous group of white supremacists is an intriguing setup for a classic potboiler with contemporary themes. —

Alison Herman, Variety, 28 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for potboiler