rejection slip

English

Noun

rejection slip (plural rejection slips)

1. (publishing) A standardized message notifying an author that his or her work has not been accepted for publication, ordinarily printed on a small piece of paper and attached to the returned manuscript.
   • 1909, Jack London, chapter 11, in Martin Eden:

     The rejection slip was so tactfully worded that he felt kindly toward the editor.

   • 1922, F[rancis] Scott Fitzgerald, The Beautiful and Damned, New York, N.Y.: Charles Scribner’s Sons, →OCLC, (please specify |book=1, 2, or 3):

     The editor . . . returned the manuscript with a rejection slip. Anthony sent it off elsewhere and began another story.

   • 2002 April 14, Frank McCourt, “Reflections on Creative Writing Class”, in New York Times, retrieved 18 August 2015:

     I told my writers . . . by the end of the term they'd have to bring in either a rejection slip or a check from a publisher.

Usage notes

• The use of this term has declined with the increase in electronic communication.

See also

• form letter

Further reading

• “rejection slip”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.