User:NoNamesLeft/Mailing

“There's only one thing worse than mailing it in, and that is not mailing it in”

~ Oscar Wilde on Mailing it in

The article speaks for itself.

Mailing it in has nothing to do with the mail and everything to do with delivery. The phrase refers to the act of performing a task or job with the minimal amount of effort required to satisfy the person who has hired you to do the job. But that's not all. To "mail it in," there has to be an understanding (express or implied) that the performer of the task is capable of better quality work than what is being delivered. Accordingly, mere hacks cannot "mail it in" the way an A-List Hollywood star of top-selling author can. Indeed, the strange thing about "mailing it in" is that a person has to earn the privilege through past, top-notch work.

What Can Be Mailed In without Ruining One's Career (Usually)

Television sitcom scripts, legal trial-court briefs, pulp-fiction novel manuscripts, local newspaper articles, B-list movie performances, and Uncyclopedia articles.

What Cannot Be Mailed In without Ruining One's Career (Usually)

Doctoral dissertations, Broadway musical scores, oral arguments before the Supreme Court, open-heart surgeries, prime-time television investigative journalism segments, and Wikipedia articles.

Professionals Who Can Often "Mail It In" (assuming they are not mere hacks)

Lawyers, actors, authors, journalists, bloggers, pop musicians, and Uncyclopedia writers.

Professionals Who Usually Cannot "Mail It In" (it being a given they are not mere hacks)

Brain Surgeons, Ivy League professors, Supreme Court Justices, Pulitzer-prize winning journalists, Wikipedia article authors.

Famous People Who Have "Mailed It In" and Lived To Tell About It

• Stephen King
• Al Pacino
• Clarence Thomas
• Sean Connery
• Billy Joel

See Also

• Minimalism
• Half-Assed
• Just Good Enough