Have You Ever Been So Mad That You Did This?

Hang up on someone.

Usually, at the end of the phone conversation, you both say “goodbye” and then hang up.

But sometimes you’re so angry….

For example, many years ago, in my twenties, I was dating a girl, and we were talking on the phone, and I got so mad at her….

I just hung up!

No “goodbye” or anything.

Of course, that’s not polite.

But sometimes when you get mad, you lose your head and your manners go out the window.

That’s what it means to hang up on someone.

NEW TIMES: OLD WORDS

Why do we say “hang up” and not “end the call”?

It’s an interesting story.

The telephone has changed, but the language hasn’t.

I call these words “old tech words.”

And English has many of them!

Listen to today’s Atomic Homework to hear more about these interesting and useful native speaker words.