telling bone en · NOUN
Etymology
A Hobson-Jobson based on interpreting telephone as telling + bone; coined by British screenwriter Richard Carpenter for the TV series Catweazle.
Meanings
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(humorous, qualifier:preceded by definite article) The telephone.
His eyes widened. The box contained the Divine Egg! The strange sorcerer who was muttering into the telling-bone had found lots of them.
1971, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 134:When we land I'll give you a tinkle on the telling bone.
1998, The Spectator, London:“Oh great magician! Conjure more voices with thy telling bone.”
1970, Richard Carpenter, Catweazle, Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, page 111:Lately, Fergus has been even more insufferable: he's in love, a piece of intelligence I winkled out of the elder curmudgeon, his grandfather, the Laird of Gunning, on the telling bone last night.
1985 May 12, The Canberra Times, page 22, column 1:She's visiting her sister in Launceston and I spoke to her on the telling bone last night.
2021, John Martin, Different Stripes: The first six quirky novels of the Windy Mountain series, John Martin:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| telling bones | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
wikipedia: Catweazle · wikipedia: Richard Carpenter (screenwriter)