dead letter box
Britishnoun
"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
At an elegant country house in Hampshire, Jack and his colleague Sandy, and an efficient girl called Emily, whom I immediately fell in love with, gave me the short course in clearing a dead letter box in mid-town Kiev — actually a chunk of loose masonry in the wall of an old tobacco kiosk — of which they had a replica set up in the orangery.
From New York Times
The judges, however, dismissed arguments that the delay was caused by an “overburdened system,” saying the VA essentially put their court order in a “dead letter” box.
From Washington Times
Even if Margolis had followed OPR's recommendation, the cases would almost certainly have wound up in the dead letter box.
From Slate
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