Phrase guide

shilling shocker

noun · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A cheap paperback book produced for the mass market in 19th-century Britain, often consolidating twelve to fifteen episodes of a serial novel whose chapters had previously been published separately as penny dreadful pamphlets, and typically focused on crime and violence.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: UK, historical

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From the price of one shilling, and the shocking content.