ENGLISH
REFERENCE

hold the phone

idiom
Meaning

stop; wait; whoa.


Examples
SIMPLE

Hold the phone — did you say free tickets?

CONTEXTUAL

She was about to sign the contract when her lawyer said, "Hold the phone, there's a hidden clause."

COMPLEX

Hold the phone, he thought, staring at the photograph: the man in the background was supposed to have died twenty years ago.

Anchors to
Related idioms8entries
  1. 01

    apron-string hold

    An estate held by a man during his wife's life.

  2. 02

    buy and hold

    A passive investment strategy where an investor purchases an asset and retains it for many years, rather than trading it frequently.

  3. 03

    dog

    [Cockney slang]phone

  4. 04

    don't hold your breath

    Don't wait. Said cynically to suggest that what has just been mentioned is unlikely to happen soon or at all.

  5. 05

    hold a grudge

    To stay angry (at someone or something).

  6. 06

    hold a light

    Synonym of hold a candle.

  7. 07

    hold back

    To act with reserve; to contain one's full measure or power.

  8. 08

    hold by the button

    To detain in conversation to the point of weariness or tedium; to bore while tallking to

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