Snail mail
Encyclopedia
Snail mail or smail is a dysphemistic
retronym
—named after the snail
with its slow speed
—used to refer to letters and missives carried by conventional postal delivery services
. The phrase refers to the lag-time between dispatch of a letter and its receipt, versus the virtually instantaneous dispatch and delivery of its electronic equivalent, e-mail
. It is also known, more neutrally, as paper mail, postal mail, land mail, or simply mail
or post. An earlier term of the same type is surface mail
, coined retrospectively after the development of airmail
.
Snail mail is also a term used in reference to penpalling
. Snail mail penpals are those penpals that communicate with one another through the postal system, rather than on the internet which is becoming the more common medium.
Some online groups also use paper mail through regular gift or craft hot topics. In some countries, services are available to print and deliver emails to those unable to receive email, like people with no computers or internet access.
Similar terminology was used in the 1840s to contrast the already-operating postal mail with the new telegraph. The Philadelphia North American stated: "The markets will no longer be dependent upon snail paced mails".
Use of the term "snail mail" pre-dates the 1970 reference below. It was actually used by the U.S. Post Office in magazine advertising in the mid to late 1960s to encourage use of zip codes. Ads for zip code use appeared in many issues of "LOOK", "Life", and, "Saturday Evening Post" magazines and displayed a caricature of a large snail outfitted as a letter carrier, with the term "Snail Mail" in bold lettering.
An early use of the exact term is attributed to the author Arnold Lobel
in his story titled "The Letter" in the 1970 book Frog and Toad are Friends
, in which Frog gave a letter to Snail to be delivered to Toad which took Snail four days to deliver. Similarly, in the 1981 animated feature Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City
, the phrase was used as a rhyming joke to describe mail being delivered by an actual snail; Strawberry receives her letter three weeks late because, as the snail character admits: "Snail mail, she is slow".
In the sense of contrasting it with electronic mail, however, Jim Rutt is purported to have first used this phrase in January 1981. Mr. Rutt later went on to become CEO of Network Solutions
.
Dysphemism
In language, dysphemism, malphemism, and cacophemism refer to the usage of an intentionally harsh, rather than polite, word or expression; roughly the opposite of euphemism...
retronym
Retronym
A retronym is a type of neologism that provides a new name for an object or concept to differentiate the original form or version of it from a more recent form or version. The original name is most often augmented with an adjective to account for later developments of the object or concept itself...
—named after the snail
Snail
Snail is a common name applied to most of the members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word is used in its most general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. The word snail without any qualifier is however more often...
with its slow speed
Speed
In kinematics, the speed of an object is the magnitude of its velocity ; it is thus a scalar quantity. The average speed of an object in an interval of time is the distance traveled by the object divided by the duration of the interval; the instantaneous speed is the limit of the average speed as...
—used to refer to letters and missives carried by conventional postal delivery services
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
. The phrase refers to the lag-time between dispatch of a letter and its receipt, versus the virtually instantaneous dispatch and delivery of its electronic equivalent, e-mail
E-mail
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
. It is also known, more neutrally, as paper mail, postal mail, land mail, or simply mail
Mail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
or post. An earlier term of the same type is surface mail
Surface mail
Surface mail, also known as sea mail, is mail that is transported by land and sea , rather than by air, as in airmail...
, coined retrospectively after the development of airmail
Airmail
Airmail is mail that is transported by aircraft. It typically arrives more quickly than surface mail, and usually costs more to send...
.
Snail mail is also a term used in reference to penpalling
Pen pal
Pen pals are people who regularly write to each other, particularly via postal mail.-Purposes:A penpal relationship is often used to practice reading and writing in a foreign language, to improve literacy, to learn more about other countries and life-styles, and to make friendships...
. Snail mail penpals are those penpals that communicate with one another through the postal system, rather than on the internet which is becoming the more common medium.
Some online groups also use paper mail through regular gift or craft hot topics. In some countries, services are available to print and deliver emails to those unable to receive email, like people with no computers or internet access.
Similar terminology was used in the 1840s to contrast the already-operating postal mail with the new telegraph. The Philadelphia North American stated: "The markets will no longer be dependent upon snail paced mails".
Use of the term "snail mail" pre-dates the 1970 reference below. It was actually used by the U.S. Post Office in magazine advertising in the mid to late 1960s to encourage use of zip codes. Ads for zip code use appeared in many issues of "LOOK", "Life", and, "Saturday Evening Post" magazines and displayed a caricature of a large snail outfitted as a letter carrier, with the term "Snail Mail" in bold lettering.
An early use of the exact term is attributed to the author Arnold Lobel
Arnold Lobel
Arnold Stark Lobel was a popular American author of children's books. Among his most popular books are those of the Frog and Toad series, and Mouse Soup, which won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association.Lobel won the 1981 Caldecott Medal for his book...
in his story titled "The Letter" in the 1970 book Frog and Toad are Friends
Frog and Toad are Friends
Frog and Toad Are Friends is the first Book in the Frog and Toad trilogy published in 1970 by the American author of children's stories, Arnold Lobel.-Summary:...
, in which Frog gave a letter to Snail to be delivered to Toad which took Snail four days to deliver. Similarly, in the 1981 animated feature Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City
Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City
Strawberry Shortcake in Big Apple City is a 1981 animated television special written by Romeo Muller, produced by Muller and Buzz Potamkin, and directed by Hal Silvermintz...
, the phrase was used as a rhyming joke to describe mail being delivered by an actual snail; Strawberry receives her letter three weeks late because, as the snail character admits: "Snail mail, she is slow".
In the sense of contrasting it with electronic mail, however, Jim Rutt is purported to have first used this phrase in January 1981. Mr. Rutt later went on to become CEO of Network Solutions
Network Solutions
Network Solutions, LLC is a technology company founded in 1979. The domain name registration business has become the most important division of the company. As of January 2009, Network Solutions managed more than 6.6 million domain names.-History:...
.
External links
- A documented appearance of the term "snailpapers" on USENET dated 1982, on Google GroupsGoogle GroupsGoogle Groups is a service from Google Inc. that supports discussion groups, including many Usenet newsgroups, based on common interests. The service was started in 1995 as Deja News, and was transitioned to Google Groups after a February 2001 buyout....