phone

have more chins than a Chinese phone book

To be exceptionally or exceedingly fat, i.e., having multiple rolls of fat (chins) on one's neck. Used as a humorous insult, the phrase is a (somewhat derogatory) pun on the word chin and the supposed commonness of "Chin" as a Chinese surname. Your mama is so fat, she has more chins than a Chinese phone book!

See also: book, chin, Chinese, have, more, phone

play phone tag

To engage in a series of telephone calls with another person in which each time one party calls, the other is not available to answer. Hi Mary, just leaving you another message. We've been playing a bit of phone tag today, huh? Just give me a call back whenever you get this, thanks!

phone tag

A series of telephone calls made between two people in which each time one party calls, the other is not available to answer. Hi Mary, just leaving you another message. We've had a bit of phone tag today, huh? Just give me a call back whenever you get this, thanks!

blow up (one's) phone

To call someone repeatedly and/or send someone a lot of text messages. A: "Hey, your phone keeps lighting up!" B: "Ugh, I wonder who's blowing up my phone." A: "It's fine, I just texted him a few times." B: "More like 15 times! Stop blowing up his phone!"

get on(to) the (tele)phone

and get on(to) the (telephone) extension

to pick up a telephone receiver to talk to someone or make a telephone call. I'll get onto the extension and talk with Fred. I'll get on the phone and call Fran right away.

Hold the phone.

1. and Hold the wire(, please).; Hold, please.; Hold the line(, please).; Hold the phone(, please).; Please hold. Fig. Please wait on the telephone and do not hang up. (A phrase in use before telephone "hold" circuitry was in wide use.) Bill: Hold the wire, please. (Turning to Tom) Tom, the phone's for you. Tom: Be right there. Rachel: Do you wish to speak to Mr. Jones or Mr. Franklin? Henry: Jones. Rachel: Thank you. Hold the line, please. Sue: Good afternoon, Acme Motors, hold please. Bill (hanging up): That makes me so mad!

2. Fig. Wait just a minute.; Don't rush into something. Hold the phone! Let's think about it a little longer. Hold the phone. I just had another idea.

*on the telephone

and *on the phone

Fig. speaking on the telephone. (*Typically: be ~; get ~.) She's on the phone but won't be long. Please take a seat while I'm on the phone. Get on the phone and call him back immediately!

phone in (to someone or something)

to call in by telephone to a central person or central point. I will phone in to my secretary and report the change in schedule. I have to phone in and report the changes.

See also: phone

phone someone up

to call someone on the telephone. I don't know what he will do. I will phone him up and ask him. Phone up your brother and ask his advice.

phone something in (to someone or something)

to transmit information to a central person or central point by telephone. I will phone this order in to the plant right away. I will phone in the order to my secretary right now. Don't worry. I'll phone it in.

See also: phone

Who's on the phone?

and Who's on the line?

Who is on the telephone line now?; Who just called on the telephone? (The caller may still be waiting.) Bill was on the telephone, and Mary walked by. "Who's on the phone?" asked Mary, hoping the call was for her. Tom asked, "Who's on the line?" Mary covered the receiver and said, "None of your business!"

hold the phone

Stop what one is doing, as in Hold the phone! There's no sense in continuing this argument. This expression is often put as an imperative, as in the example. [Colloquial; second half of 1900s] Also see hold everything.

phone in

1. To relay some information by telephone: I phoned in my credit card number so the company could bill me directly. She couldn't go to the meeting, so she just phoned her report in using a speaker phone.

2. To perform something halfheartedly or carelessly without full concentration or passion: After playing the same role for a year, the actor started to phone in his performances.

See also: phone

phone up

To telephone someone or something: I didn't understand the contract, so I phoned up my lawyer for help. She told her client that she would phone him up after lunch to review what they had discussed.

Hold the phone!

exclam. Wait just a minute! Just a minute! Hold the phone!

talk on the big white phone

in. to vomit into a toilet. One more beer and I’m gonna have to go talk on the big white phone.

hold the phone

Slang

To stop doing what one is engaged in doing. Often used in the imperative: Hold the phone! Let's end this argument.

phone it in

To do something in a perfunctory way or with little interest: One of the actors in the play was just phoning it in.

See also: phone

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Miguelito	-	Spanish, Portuguese
Asha (2)	-	Eastern African, Swahili
Svetlana	svyet-LAH-nah (Russian), sveet-LAH-nah (Russian)	Russian, Slovak, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian
Flavian	-	History
BoŻYdar	baw-ZHI-dahr	Polish
Singh	-	Indian (Sikh)