hold the phone

Idioms and Phrases

Stop what one is doing, as in Hold the phone! There's no sense in continuing this argument . This expression is often put as an imperative, as in the example. [ Colloquial ; second half of 1900s] Also see hold everything .

Example Sentences

“To be honest with you, I just told the story in the most natural way that I talk. It’s nothing for me to hold the phone up, whether I’m on FaceTime with a friend or a family member, and just talk. ... What you see in that 50-part series is who I am,” Johnson said.

From Los Angeles Times

Hold the phone far from your face and at an oblique angle to minimize the strength of the light.

From Seattle Times

He also suggests trying to hold the phone at more of an upright, angled position.

From Seattle Times

To cope, his mother would “lie on the floor and hold the phone away from her head.”

From New York Times

The process is simple: Take a face selfie, scan the passport photo page and hold the phone against the inside of the passport’s back cover to read the embedded chip.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• await
• delay
• expect
• hang
• linger
• remain
• stand by
• stay
• stick around
• watch