To act in service to a higher i.e. more noble cause, a greater good. Often indicating an action undertaken at the behest of a Higher Power, such as a supreme being or deity, or some conception of justice and the morally right; motivation for personal growth and/or individual sacrifice for the greater good.

The lawyer quit her lucrative position as a private defense attorney and instead became a low paid public defender because she was answering a higher calling.

answering a higher calling by Nacho Momma May 4, 2015

Answering Machine

An object for recording messages to the person you call when they are not home.

My wife and I can't come to the phone right now, but if you'll leave your name and number, we'll get back to you as soon as we're finished.

Answering Machine by Rederickfay October 26, 2004

Prank Answering

When a good friend calls and you answer the phone like-
A) you speak a foreign language, or broken english, or
B) Like you've never heard the name of the person before.
Either way it makes the person suspect they have a wrong number, and it's funny as hell. Sort of like a prank call, just by the receiver.

Noon...
John dials the number....
RING
RING
Perry: hehehe
*answers*
Perry: Herro, this is panda moon!
John: umm... uh... I think I have a wrong number!
Perry: I'm just fucking around! I was prank answering you!

Prank Answering by Dondrummondsorta January 16, 2011

answering the phone

When someone gets hit by person or object hard enough to hear ringing in their head.

Oh man did you see that hit? That guys gonna be answering the phone for awhile.

answering the phone by Jesse Sherburne December 29, 2008

George Costanza Answering Machine

A George Costanza Answering Machine is when you record a ridiculous greeting people hear when they call your answering machine. It comes from an episode of "Seinfeld" where George's greeting is himself singing a song off key to avoid talking to his girlfriend.

I HATE calling Paul when he isn't home. He has a George Costanza Answering Machine.

George Costanza Answering Machine by VFL98 August 26, 2014

fireplace answering machine bullshit

n.- anything that sucks or is completely pointless.

I'm sick of all the fireplace answering machine bullshit paypal puts you through to create an account.

fireplace answering machine bullshit by Grams of Justin April 5, 2005

You met me at a very Chinese time in my life

A moment in time where you feel distinctly Chinese over all other things.

Dante: "I wish I could be Nigerian, but I can't because I'm Chinese. You met me at a very Chinese time in my life."

You met me at a very Chinese time in my life by Sus Chad September 21, 2026

Word of the Day on September 25, 2026

crunchy

Adjective. Used to describe persons who have adjusted or altered their lifestyle for environmental reasons. Crunchy persons tend to be politically strongly left-leaning and may be additionally but not exclusively categorized as vegetarians, vegans, eco-tarians, conservationists, environmentalists, neo-hippies, tree huggers, nature enthusiasts, etc.

Also used to describe establishments where alternative foods and products are sold, i.e. natural food stores.

Modified derivative of granola.

"I need more crunchy guys in my life. I'm so tired of dating preppy metrosexual assholes."

"I'm heading out to the crunchy store to pick up some fair trade chocolate and tea tree oil, do you need anything?"

crunchy by EBC July 11, 2007

Word of the Day on September 24, 2026

Galantir

A group of people, typically women, searching through someone’s digital footprint in order to find more information about that person.

Susie wasn’t sure if her new Hinge match was a creep, so she assembled Galantir and they found out he used to post slurs on gaming forums.

Galantir by Ge-sus September 22, 2026

Word of the Day on September 23, 2026

murderhobo

In a tabletop game, a murderhobo is a player who murders NPCs indiscriminately. This is normally derogatory, referring to a player who totally ignores quests, dialog, backstory, trade, world building etc.

The term is most common with Dungeons and Dragons, but it can be applied to most RPGs where the player is allowed to kill most quest-giving NPCs and NPC traders. E.g. Elder Scrolls, Fallout, Divinity original sin.

DM: The sad little orphan girl tugs at Steve's trenchcoat to get his attention, and ask for help saving her pet dog from...
Steve: I'd like to roll a strength check against strangling the orphan.
Dave: I call dibs on the dog.
DM: You murderhobos disgust me.

murderhobo by Loup&S September 9, 2021

Word of the Day on September 22, 2026

Whale

In sales terms, a whale is a prospect that is significantly larger than an organization’s average customer.

Whales are large and extremely difficult to close. Due to their immense size, they are highly sought-after.

A whale is typically identified at first by a whale hunter on the sales team, but often requires cross-discipline participation in order to close; this includes assistance from operations, engineering, creative, client success, and business development teams.

"Shit...the sales director chewed me out on the sales call this morning. He's totally pissed that I have nothing in my pipeline. I've been focused on this one whale for so long that I haven't had time to prospect for normal-sized deals."

Whale by FQ_GFY February 3, 2020

Word of the Day on September 21, 2026

Concrete cowboy

A guy who thinks he's a country kinda guy, but in reality lives a comfortable city / suburban life.

Eugene: Look at that dude in the cowboy hat!
Todd: He's just a concrete cowboy.

Concrete cowboy by EugeneJohnson42000 March 16, 2024

Word of the Day on September 20, 2026