bread-and-butter letter

Idioms  

1. A thank-you letter from guest to host. For example, Mother always had to remind the children to send Grandma a bread-and-butter note. [c. 1900]

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Example Sentences

And so the "bread-and-butter" letter went to Mr. and Mrs. Geary both, and was kept and treasured by them as one of their choicest possessions.

From Marjorie at Seacote by Wells, Carolyn

"Mother," said Marjorie, the next day, "what is a bread-and-butter letter?"

From Marjorie at Seacote by Wells, Carolyn

Within ten days after her departure the guest should write a bread-and-butter letter to her hostess.

From Book of Etiquette, Volume 2 by Watson, Lillian Eichler

Jimmie's "bread-and-butter" letter gave me such joy that I copy it here, which shows how little I care for the conventions of life, inasmuch as I reproduce none of the others.

From At Home with the Jardines by Bell, Lilian

"A bread-and-butter letter; Mother says it's all right."

From Marjorie at Seacote by Wells, Carolyn