in the post
- idiom
- UK
- Your invoice is in the post.
And lastly, even though I really like this product and I'm wearing it, it is when it came in the post, I was like, so here it is.
- And lastly, even though I really like this product and I'm wearing it, it is when it came in the post, I was like, so here it is.
- He sent Caroline a lamp in the post to arrive at her house to taunt her for the fact that she had apparently thrown this lamp.
Examples
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There was a card from your mother in the post.
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Any gifts in the post?
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I had good news in the post.
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Anything for me in the post today?
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This came for you in the post yesterday.
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- I sent for it in the post.
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Your parents and your aunt will get letters in the post.
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Got sent these yesterday in the post from Armani.
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It just came in the post.
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I received a letter from my friend in the post last week.
Synonyms
Letters and packages that are delivered to people
Letters and packages sent or delivered by the postal service
Letters and packages that are sent and delivered by the postal service
How Fast
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'by mail' is directly derivable from combining 'in' (indicating location/medium) with 'the post' (the postal system/letters), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents can infer it. This compositional pattern is common cross-linguistically (compare 'in the mail' / 'par la poste') despite being a British preference, so it is predictable rather than idiomatic.
Etymology
In the post comes from the simple image of a letter sitting in the post, meaning inside the mail bag or postbox. If something is in the post, it is literally inside the mail, so it means 'sent or coming by mail'.