a poison pen letter

poison-pen letter

A letter that contains malicious statements or accusations about the recipient or another party. Shortly after announcing his candidacy, he received an anonymous poison-pen letter attacking his platform.See also: letter

a ˌpoison ˈpen letter

an unpleasant letter which is not signed and is intended to upset the person who receives it: Most politicians get poison pen letters, sometimes threatening their lives.See also: letter, pen, poison