throw phone
n.— «The SWAT team moved cautiously during the beginning of the drill while delivering what is called a “throw phone” to the gunman inside. That set up a means of communication, allowing the negotiator to speak with the gunman and the hostages.» —“School bus drivers taught how SWAT defuses crises” by Scott J. Croteau Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Massachusetts) Aug. 24, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
It’s hard to imagine now, but there was a time when people disagreed over the best word to use when answering the phone. Alexander Graham Bell suggested answering with ahoy! but Thomas Edison was partial to hello! A fascinating new book about...
The autocomplete function on your phone comes in handy, of course. But is it changing the way we write and how linguists study language? Also, suppose you could invite any two authors, living or dead, to dinner. Who’s on your guest list and...