telephone tag

American  

noun

1. repeated unsuccessful attempts by two persons to connect with one another by telephone.

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Example Sentences

Another reporter slammed the second-hand reports from Ms. Jean-Pierre and Mr. Jha as “telephone tag,” asking why the public hasn’t heard directly from the president’s doctor.

From Washington Times

As we noted earlier, Strzok was not at the meeting, so this is could be an exercise in telephone tag.

From Washington Post

While head bartender Fetherston shared a few recipes for this story — The Getaway and The Telephone Tag are both drinks that cocktailers can replicate at home — he admitted that finding “easy” recipes among their back catalogue was a challenge.

From Washington Post

But Kushner’s role has sparked a cross-border game of telephone tag and conflicting accounts about who called who first.

From Seattle Times

“I was surprised, and I was worried,” he said, noting that for a while he played “telephone tag” with his doctor and was not seen.

From New York Times