snail mail

snail mail

Paper mail sent through the postal service (as opposed to email). Snails are thought of as very slow. A: "Did we get any exciting snail mail today?" B: "Nah, just some bills." Wait, you sent the invitations by snail mail? Why didn't you just do e-vites?

See also: mail, snail

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

snail mail

Ordinary postal service, as opposed to electronic communications. For example, He hasn't taken to his computer so he's still using snail mail. This slangy idiom, alluding to the alleged slowness of the snail, caught on at least partly for its rhyme. [1980s]

See also: mail, snail

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ˈsnail mail

(informal, humorous) used especially by people who use email on computers to describe the system of sending letters by ordinary mail: I’d love to hear from you, either by email or snail mail.

See also: mail, snail

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017

snail-mail

n. post office mail; regular mail as opposed to electronic mail. (Refers to the slowness of regular mail in comparison to electronic mail or faxes.) There are lots of color pictures in the article, so I will send you the original by snail-mail.

McGraw-Hill's Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.