blow-in card

noun

: a card printed typically with a subscription offer or advertisement that is inserted loosely by a machine using air pressure between the pages of a magazine
What demon dreamed up "blow-in cards"—those subscription cards that drop out of a magazine as you pick it up to read? Reportedly a machine, at some stage in the mailing process, riffles each magazine's pages and blows in anywhere from one to six of these cards. The method a cheaper than stapling the card in, and presumably the dropping-out process forces the card on your attention.Alan L. Otten, Wall Street Journal, 21 Nov. 1974
Inside the magazine there were lots of blow-in cards offering subscription deals, but he didn't want to have to fill out a coupon and mail it in and wait six weeks for his subscription to kick in.Harvey Mackay, Albany (New York) Times Union, 13 Apr. 1997

Word History

First Known Use

1974, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of blow-in card was in 1974

Love words?

You must — there are over 200,000 words in our free online dictionary, but you are looking for one that’s only in the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary.

Start your free trial today and get unlimited access to America's largest dictionary, with:

  • More than 250,000 words that aren't in our free dictionary
  • Expanded definitions, etymologies, and usage notes
  • Advanced search features
  • Ad free!

Dictionary Entries Near blow-in card

Cite this Entry

“Blow-in card.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blow-in%20card. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!