mail it in

present singular third person mails it in · participle present mailing it in · participle past mailed it in · past mailed it in

1. idiomaticTo deliver a performance without commitment or effort, with lackluster results.

   Listen, we're not mailing it in, we're trying to get better.

   2010 May 25, Joe Cowley, “Crunch time comes early; Sox 7 Indians 2; Peavy^s point: Next month is make or break”, in The Chicago Sun-Times

   2 more examples

   "I do think the judges mailed it in during Season 6, relative to previous years," Welton says. "Simon needs to be nastier. […]"

   2008 January 11, Bill Keveney, “Idol tries to get its groove back”, in USA Today, page 1A

   So when you have to write two columns a week that are going to be read by a lot of people around the world, you can't just mail it in. You're thinking all the time.

   2009 January/February, Keith Bellows, “Go, But Go Green”, in National Geographic, volume 26, number 1, page 22

   Synonyms: phone it in

2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see mail, it, in.