Beep
From UgandaWiki: The Uganda Online Encyclopedia
From UgandaWiki, the Uganda online encyclopedia.
Clarification:
This is a dictionary entry of "beep" and "beeper" as words of Ugandan English. For an article on the practice of beeping, click here
Contents |
[edit] Word or phrase of Ugandan English
Beep (verb, noun); beeper (noun)
[edit] Meaning or equivalent in standard English
To call someone's mobile phone and hang up before they answer the call in the hope that they will call back. To communicate a particular message by calling a mobile phone and hanging up before the call is picked. A person who beeps is a beeper.
[edit] Usage of the word or phrase
"Beep" may be used as a verb (He beeps me all the time) or as a noun (I don't respond to beeps). People usually beep to avoid paying for the call. Think of beeping as initiating a collect call).
A person who beeps is a beeper. The term may also be used to describe a person or a (social) group with the characteristics of a beeper, even if they don't actually peep. Misers, for example, may be referred to as beepers.
[edit] Origin of the word or phrase
Probably derived from the beeper (pager), a mobile communication device that predates the mobile phone. When one received a signal (beep) on their pager, they had to find a phone to call back to retrieve the voice message.
