ENGLISH
REFERENCE

phone in

idiom
Meaning

To fulfill a responsibility with a minimum effort rather than the appropriate level of effort.


Examples
SIMPLE

He is just phoning it in at work lately.

CONTEXTUAL

The actor clearly phoned it in during his performance, showing no real interest in the character.

COMPLEX

Rather than engaging with the complex issues of the project, the consultant simply phoned it in, providing a generic report that lacked any original insight.

Anchors to
Related idioms3entries
  1. 01

    dog

    [Cockney slang]phone

  2. 02

    hold the phone

    stop; wait; whoa.

  3. 03

    phone tag

    A situation in which two individuals attempting to contact each other by telephone repeatedly do not get a live person and instead trade messages, such as by voice mail.

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