trunk call

American  

noun

Chiefly British.

1. a long-distance phone call.

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trunk call British  

noun

1. a long-distance telephone call

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Etymology

Origin of trunk call

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

That would make it a trunk call - get it?

From Children's BBC • Jun. 25, 2012

When, twenty minutes later, Mr. Jeekes emerged from the trunk call telephone box in the club vestibule, his mouth was drooping at the corners and his hands trembled curiously.

From The Yellow Streak by Williams, Valentine

Please get me Stevenish one-three-seven," he said, "it's a trunk call.

From The Yellow Streak by Williams, Valentine

"A trunk call," he said over his shoulder to the departing commissioner, "it may be something interesting."

From The Clue of the Twisted Candle by Wallace, Edgar

The telephone bell rings with the petulant persistence that marks a trunk call, and I go in from some ineffectual gymnastics on the lawn to deal with the irruption.

From An Englishman Looks at the World by Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)

Related Words

• local call
• long-distance call
• phone call
• telephone conversation