answer on a postcard
- idiom
- UK
:
responder en una postal
- What should we call our new mascot? Suggestions, answer on a postcard.
Examples
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For our next puzzle, answer on a postcard for your chance to be featured in the newsletter.
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If you can guess her secret ingredient, answer on a postcard and you might win a prize.
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Send your answer on a postcard!
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Just give us your answer on a postcard!
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If you know the answer to the riddle, answer on a postcard to join the competition.
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We'd love to hear your thoughts about the new exhibition; please answer on a postcard by next week.
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For this month's trivia question, answer on a postcard for a chance to win a special gift.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A spoken, written, or shown reply to a question
∞
1.0
A written or spoken answer to a question
Antonyms
How Advanced
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal idea of putting a reply on a postcard is directly derivable from the constituents 'answer' + 'on' + 'a' + 'postcard', so a learner who knows these words will grasp the basic sense. However, the phrase is a conventionalised (chiefly British) and often humorous way to request a brief or informal response, a pragmatic nuance that is culture-specific and not fully predictable from the parts alone.
Etymology
Answer on a postcard comes from old British magazine and radio competitions where readers were told to write an answer on a postcard and send it by mail. Because a postcard is small, the phrase became a playful way to ask for a short, informal reply, so today people use it to invite quick suggestions.