Which is more correct to say

  1. See mail trail
  2. See trail mail

I want to know the right sentence to use when writing mail. Some people use mail trail while some use trail mail. It puts me in a confusion that I really want to understand the right grammar to use.

Can someone explain the difference between the two forms? Which form is more acceptable and/or common?


Solution 1:

I have not encountered "trail mail", and ngrams concurs. It is likely you mean "mail trail", however the exact phrase depends on what you mean.

A "mail trail" is a single trail made up of many items of mail. Many letter (or emails or messages) which, when put together, tell a single story. Individual messages could be referred to as "trail mail".