love letter

plural love letters

1. A letter written to express the author's love for the intended reader.

   We never see each other, but have been sending love letters every Valentine's Day for 10 years.

   2 more examples

   Thus, when he drew up instructions in lawyer language[…]; his clerks, however, understood him very well. If he had written a love letter, or a farce, or a ballade, or a story, no one, either clerks, or friends, or compositors, would have understood anything but a word here and a word there. For his signature, however, that was different.

   1892, Walter Besant, “Prologue: Who is Edmund Gray?”, in The Ivory Gate […], New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers, […], →OCLC

   Now we are liberal with our innermost secrets, spraying them into the public ether with a generosity our forebears could not have imagined. Where we once sent love letters in a sealed envelope, or stuck photographs of our children in a family album, now such private material is despatched to servers and clouds operated by people we don't know and will never meet.

   2013 June 14, Jonathan Freedland, “Obama's once hip brand is now tainted”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 1, page 18

   Synonyms: billet-doux

2. figurativelyA work that shows great passion or enthusiasm for something.

   This movie is a love letter to New York.

   3 more examples

   From beginning to end, Homecoming: The Live Album is a love letter from Beyoncé to the Black culture that made her who she is, a celebration of the extraordinary creativity and power of Black people and our experience. For us, by us.

   2019 April 17, Ineye Komonibo, “Beyoncé Dropped Another Album While You Were Sleeping”, in Marie Claire

   The film is both a tip of the chapeau to The New Yorker, among other American magazines, and a love letter to expat life in France. But beyond that? There isn't much going on beneath its extraordinary bejewelled surface.

   2021 July 12, Nicholas Barber, “The French Dispatch: Four stars for Wes Anderson's latest”, in BBC

   It was in this era, too, that author and Scotland the Brave songwriter Cliff Hanley penned The Glasgow Underground, a tongue-in-cheek love letter to the Subway in song.

   2021 December 29, Conrad Landin, “Glasgow Subway: a city institution”, in RAIL, number 947, page 45

3. USslangA notice from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection informing about the seizure of a personal shipment as contraband.

   Dr Martin says the address the package has been sent to will likely get a "love letter" in the post from Customs.

   2016 August 2, Nick Jarvis, “What Happens if You're Caught Getting Drugs in the Mail?”, in Vice

4. MalaysiaSingaporeA thin crispy biscuit roll similar to the Spanish barquillo, Dutch kniepertjes, and Norwegian krumkake. Usually made from coconut milk, eggs, flour, sugar, and oil. This food item has many names: in Malay, kuih/kueh/kue kapit/sepit/sapit/semprong (literally "clamped/tongs/roll cake/snack"); in Chinese, 蛋卷 (literally "egg roll"). The name "love letter" probably arises from the flowery patterns, Chinese characters, animals, etc. (that were probably introduced by Peranakans). Usually eaten only around festivals such as Chinese New Year or Hari Raya Puasa. Sometimes also folded (rather than rolled). Note: while "egg roll" is a name sometimes used for this food item in Singapore and Malaysia, in the West, the name "egg roll" usually refers to a very different, savoury Chinese-American food item that is usually served hot and has little or no egg.