telephonitis

English

Etymology

telephone +‎ -itis, as though it were a medical condition.

Noun

telephonitis (uncountable)

  1. (humorous) A tendency to use the telephone excessively.
    • 1950, United States. Congress. House. Banking and Currency Committee, Extension of Rent Control, 1950: Hearings... (page 104); quoted from the Times-Picayune, May 4, 1950
      Ever since Saturday the A. J. Favaloro family has been suffering from an acute case of "telephonitis." The telephone began ringing at 5 a.m. Saturday and has hardly stopped since.
    • 1986, Network World, volume 3, number 18, page 11:
      AT&T may have found the solution to that teen-age disease dreaded by parents across the country — telephonitis.
    • 2004, Doug Thorburn, How to Spot Hidden Alcoholics, page 56:
      Telephonitis was the most important clue among several suggesting that a person observed one Friday evening might be under the influence. He was talking almost incessantly on his cell phone in the middle of a small-town restaurant […]
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