"Telephonic Messages" from New York Times

1911

• New York Times (March 27, 1911)   "Telephonic Messages"   A letter to the editor by W. J. Lampton. The second of four letters in a series. p 10.  [NYTIMES]

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from New York Times
Telephonic Messages

To the Editor of The New York Times:

I object to the suggestion of Mr. Ellis Parker Butler in Friday's Times that the most appropriate word descriptive of a telephone message is "yawp." Being somewhat of a yawpist myself and knowing something about yawps, I want to say that a yawp is as unlike a telephone message as -- as -- well, as a telephone message is unlike a yawp.

Oh, say,
A yawp is not the way
We send
A telephone message to a friend,
Because a yawp gets there
For fair;
Which is why
It is called a yawp.
See?

Judging from numerous transactions I have had with telephonic messages I should say a good descriptive word would be "tohelephon." What?

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