sudser
\SUHD-zer\
noun
1. Informal. any movie, play, or the like that is designed to provoke a tearful response.
2. Informal. a soap opera.
Quotes
If it's the autumn-leaves season, there will be an Oscar-bound high-sudser (Mid-Life Weekend) about a man (woman) having one last fling, or possibly even something Serious, something from the empyreal heights, a picture the Industry Can Be Proud Of--a deluxe adaptation of a famous play or novel, starring Meryl Streep.
-- David Denby, "Can the Movies Be Saved?" New York, July 21, 1986
Origin
The term sudser arose in the 1960s. Its root word, suds, entered English meaning "dregs" or, perhaps, "flood water."
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