telephone tag
noun
: telephoning back and forth by parties trying to reach each other without success
Examples of telephone tag in a Sentence
We've been playing telephone tag—she's always out when I call, and vice versa.
Recent Examples on the Web
Finally, the game of telephone tag ended.
—
Justin Fenton, baltimoresun.com, 9 Aug. 2021
Remember telephone tag?
—Sally Schwartz, chicagotribune.com, 10 May 2021
Not that there aren’t plenty of excuses for slipping up, given the immensity of the task and its attendant glitches – the outdated lists, the telephone tag, the last-minute head-count changes.
—Mary Beth McCauley, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Nov. 2019
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Justin Fenton, baltimoresun.com, 9 Aug. 2021
Remember telephone tag?
—Sally Schwartz, chicagotribune.com, 10 May 2021
Not that there aren’t plenty of excuses for slipping up, given the immensity of the task and its attendant glitches – the outdated lists, the telephone tag, the last-minute head-count changes.
—Mary Beth McCauley, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Nov. 2019
Cite this Entry
“Telephone tag.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/telephone%20tag. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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