special delivery

Noun

special delivery (countable and uncountable, plural special deliveries)

1. (uncountable) A kind of postal service in which, for an extra fee, letters and packages are delivered in a highly expedited manner by a special courier.
   • The pick of the output of the French and German toymakers was rushed by special delivery to the mansion; but Rachel refused to be comforted.1910, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “Compliments of the Season”, in Strictly Business: More Stories of the Four Million, New York, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, →OCLC
   • So, before he slept, he sent his sister a special-delivery letter knowing she would receive it in the morning.1919, Grace S. Richmond, “The Time of His Life”, in The Brown Study
2. (countable) A particular posted letter or package which is delivered in this manner; a particular act of conveying such letters or packages to one or more recipients.
   • Late in the afternoon arrived a special delivery, mailed from some small New Jersey town.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 post office arranged special deliveries every half-hour to handle the flood of greetings.1972 November 6, “People”, in Time
3. (broadly, humorous, idiomatic, sometimes) Something—whether desirable or undesirable—which is intentionally given to a specific individual or which an individual receives rapidly and unexpectedly; the personalized, direct quality of the transmission of such an item.
   • “Special delivery for Mr. Graham,” said the uniformed sheriff. He grinned as he stepped aside. “Hi, honey,” said the woman standing there.1998, Lisa Scottoline, Rough Justice, →ISBN, page 181
   • “He might be God's special delivery for us. The reward we've been waiting for.”2008, Jerry B. Jenkins, John Perrodin, Seclusion Point, →ISBN, page 83