"horn"

Posted by R. Berg on January 21, 2004

In Reply to: Phrase "horn" for telephone posted by Bob on January 21, 2004

: : does anybody out there know where this phrase comes from. when talking to someone on the telephone, one can say "while I have you on the horn", where did horn come from.
: : thank you

: Horn is slang for telephone for the same reason "horn" is applied to loudspeakers, ear trumpets, powder horns, etc. All of them resemble animal horns, e.g., ram's horns.

And . . . early telephones such as the ones in movies from the 1920s looked like horns, whereas current phones look more like boxes with rounded corners.

• "Horn" Bruce Kahl 21/January/04