Editing Potboiler (section)

{{short description|Work of dubious artistic merit, to pay the creator's daily expenses}}
{{for|a type of boiler|pot boiler}}
A '''potboiler''' or '''pot-boiler''' is a [[novel]], [[Play (theatre)|play]], [[opera]], [[film]], or other creative work of dubious literary or artistic merit, whose main purpose was to pay for the creator's daily expenses—thus the imagery of "boil the pot",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=potboiler&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1&o8=1&o1=1&o7=&o5=&o9=&o6=&o3=&o4=&h= |title=WordNet Search - 3.1 |accessdate=2011-04-05 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20131104183237/http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=potboiler&sub=Search+WordNet&o2=&o0=1&o8=1&o1=1&o7=&o5=&o9=&o6=&o3=&o4=&h= |archivedate=2013-11-04 }} </ref> which means "to provide one's livelihood."<ref>{{cite book |title=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |edition=Fourth |year=2000 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |location=Boston |isbn=0-395-82517-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/americanheritage0000unse_a1o7 }}</ref> Authors who create potboiler novels or [[screenplay]]s are sometimes called [[hack writer]]s or hacks. Novels deemed to be potboilers may also be called [[Pulp fiction (genre)|pulp fiction]], and potboiler films may be called "popcorn movies."