to mail it in
1
8.7
- phrasal verb
- /meɪl ɪt ɪn/
- Informal
:
hacerlo a medias
- The player was criticized for choosing to mail it in during the final game of the season, as it frustrated the fans.
Examples
-
All right, you take that, fill it out, and mail it in.
-
You can mail it in or you can come by the station.
-
Well, you can't be in the computer until you fill it out and mail it in.
-
So you fill out the 976, you mail it in to me and I will make sure you get an appointment.
-
But I, I got to think that if you're on Facebook's UIUX team and you're not just somebody mailing it in there, there's no way you don't hate what this is.
-
He really seemed to mail it in this time, delivering a presentation that lacked enthusiasm.
-
When she submitted her project at the last minute, it was clear she had just decided to mail it in instead of putting in the effort.
Synonyms
26
5.0
To do something without real effort or interest because it is expected
To do something with little effort or care
Antonyms
How Much Effort
39
4.1
∞
1.0
- Informal
1
8.7
- Informal
26
5.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
mail + it + in
The literal meanings of 'mail' (to send by post), 'it' (pronoun) and 'in' (preposition) do not combine to yield 'do something with minimal effort', so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would not predict the idiomatic sense. This is a colloquial, language-specific idiom whose meaning is not compositionally derived and therefore unpredictable without prior exposure.
Etymology
The phrase mail it in may come from the image of a worker or performer who did not show up and simply put their job in a package and sent it by mail. So today, to mail it in means 'to do something with little effort or care'.