A Dear John letter is a letter written to a man by his wife or romantic partner to inform him their relationship is over because she has found another lover. The man is often a soldier stationed overseas, although the letter may be used in other ways, including being left for him to discover when he returns from work to an emptied house. It is usually sent after time-away on holiday.
Origin and etymology
While the exact origins of the phrase are unknown, it is commonly believed to have been coined by Americans during World War II. "John" was the most popular and common baby name for boysin America every single year from 1880 through 1923, making it a reasonable 'placeholder' name when denoting those of age for military service. Large numbers of American troops were stationed overseas for many months or years, and as time passed many of their wives or girlfriends decided to begin a relationship with a new man rather than to wait for them to return. As letters to servicemen from wives or girlfriends back home would typically contain affectionate language, a serviceman receiving a note beginning with a curt "Dear John" would instantly be aware of the letter's purpose. A writer in the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, New York, summed it up in August 1945: An early reference to Dear John letters was made in a United Pressarticle of March 21, 1944. It has been claimed that the Vietnam War inspired more Dear John letters than any other U.S. conflict. Later, this type of letter formed the background to the British television showDear John, and the American sitcom of the same name. A Dear Jane letter is a contemporary version of a Dear John letter addressed to a female lover.
Employment
This term is also used to describe letters written in the context of employment, either to inform an applicant that they had not been selected for a job, why employees had been separated from work, or from an employee to their employer upon the employee quitting.
