by return of post
- idiom
- Archaic
:
por correo de vuelta
- Please confirm your attendance by return of post so we can finalize the guest list.
Examples
-
I sent you the documents yesterday; could you return them by return of post?
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If you have any questions, please reply by return of post for a quick response.
-
So send us 15 pounds by return of post please, and your husband Trevor and lovely children Diane, Janice and Julian need never know the name of your lover in Bolton.
Synonyms
5
1.0
Sent or received by mail
A reply by mail sent on the next delivery
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The words 'return' (coming back) and 'post' (mail) point to a mail-related meaning, so learners can get a general sense that it concerns postal delivery. However, the specific procedural sense 'by the next mail delivery / as soon as possible by mail' is a conventional, somewhat formal formula that is not fully predictable from the parts and often requires familiarity with the set phrase (even though many languages have comparable bureaucratic phrases).
Etymology
By return of post comes from the time when people relied on postal mail. A quick reply would be sent to arrive with the next delivery and literally arrive 'by return of post', so today the phrase means 'as soon as possible, by the next mail'.