pen picture

• pen-picture

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pen picture (plural pen pictures)

1. (idiomatic) A written description, often biographical.
   • 1893, Edwin H. Porter, The Fall River Tragedy: A History of the Borden Murders, page 142:

     It drew a pen picture of the dread disease in the act of purging the city of Fall River of such men as would dare to insinuate that the young woman was guilty.

   • 1942 November and December, “What our readers think”, in Railway Magazine, page 322:

     I was most amused by the article on Sir Henry Fowler in the series "Some C.M.Es. I have Known." It was a perfect pen picture of one full of nervous energy.—Major H. P. M. Beames, [...] (formerly Chief Mechanical Engineer, L.M.S.R.).

   • 1987, Amaresh Datta, editor, Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo, volume 1, →ISBN, page 726:

     In the poem, the poet just gives a pen picture of his father, who according to him, represents all that is best in Aryan culture.

   • 2014, Joyce Lishman, Chris Yuill, Jillian Brannan, Alastair Gibson, editors, Social Work: An Introduction, →ISBN:

     Here is a pen picture of a child lacking ego integrity.

• pen portrait

• “pen picture”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.