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Dial in

Mala

Member
Croatian, Croatia
Hello!
Could you please help me with this phrase. Here's the sentence:

"One woman we spoke to said she began to "just dial it in" when she realized her boss wouldn't let her do anything on her own"

What is the meaning of dial something in?

Thanks.
This sentence does not really make sense......however dial something in relates to a telephone......you a dial a number.....are you dialling her yet? (are you putting (punching) her number into the phone yet)

You can also say for example.....if there is a competition on the radio you have to dial in to win......pick up the phone and dial the number.......just pick-up and dial in....dial in....is often used when talking about entering competitions (by phone) I can't think where else the word dial is used...it always seems to be related to the phone

L
More context is required.

She probably began to enter a number or text into a keypad or, more probably, a telephone.

Rotary phones (the old phones with the number disc) have a "dial" (a type of control that you turn, like a knob). So now, when we enter a phone number into a telephone, we still say dial.

Some radios still have dials (again, a control system that you turn), and radio announcers ask you to "dial in" (in this example, which is probably not what your question is about, it means that they want you to listen to their radio station).
are you sure you have the translation right for the boss wouldn't let her 'do anything on her own" that is the bit that doesn't make sense.....also you would not say dial it in you would say dial in
well, it's the original sentence, not a translation. The phrase is in the quotation marks, so there's probably something special about its' use. The context is about micromanaging, i.e. not letting your employees work on their own, independently..going into too much detail. So this woman, when she realized her boss is micromanaging, started to just "dial it in"... as some sort of evading the boss' micromanaging.
I tried to find the phrase in the dictionaries online, but I only found dial-in races..and these phoning techniques... didn't help much.
I have never heard dial it in...used like that so I am really suprised....I promise you you will never hear that usage of dial in England now.
Maybe one of the English language experts can shed some light...i am just your average english speaker who has never studied grammar or the language before!

L
It sounds like she meant "phone it in", which means not to try very hard, or to get something done with the least amount of work possible because your heart isn't in it. I think the idea behind the metaphor is that you can't even be bothered to come in to the office to do your work so you do it from home over the telephone.

Around the springtime of their senior year many high school students start "phoning it in".


I presume that once she realized the boss wouldn't let her do anything on her own she lost her enthusiasm for the job and just stopped trying to do it well.
reading it again It might be that she was purposley trying to defy the bosses micromanagement in some way...maybe he wouldn't let them use the phone or whatever it is on their own and she just dialled whatever it was in anyway.....Dial could relate maybe to a number code for something...maybe on a security door that has a number code although we would say key in the code as opposed to dial in the code......I think a safe is the same you key in the code not dial in the code
never heard the phrase - according to urbandictionary.com, it can be used as meaning tweaking something, the term coming from tuning in a guitar.

This does not really shed any light on the phrase in the original context, though.

If she said "jack it in" it would mean she began to give up, but you don´t usually begin to jack something in, it´s more spontanaeous.
Thank you all for your help. 👁 Smile :)

I guess Kevman's explanation could be the right one, as it fits the context very well. We'll see if anyone comes up with some other explanations.
Hi all,

I'm currently reading a forum about M3 Trench knives and here is what I found :

"A good example of improved and consistent quality control is found on the products from the Ka-Bar co. When they decided to reproduce the 1219C2 in the mid 70's, the workmanship varied greatly. I have seen many with a poorly ground top edge that resembles a banana. As of late, they have really dialed in on the quality and all the modern versions I have are perfect."

Please, what does it mean ? Well, I guess that the "on" is linked to the word "quality". But what about "dial in" ?

Have they improved the quality of the knives ?

Thanks in advance for your help !
Kevman's explanation is the one I thought of. This is the only one that makes sense to me in the context provided. I would suspect that someone got the metaphor slightly wrong.
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As of late, they have really dialed in on the quality and all the modern versions I have are perfect."
But what about "dial in" ?
This is the sense of adjusting the analog dials of a old-fashioned radio (or other instrument) until you have the best possible reception (dial in on the frequency of the radio station) so they have made adjustments until they have achieved an acceptable level of quality.

To the original post, I agree with Kevman that that usage is a mistaken version of "phone it in" (do a minimal job).
I agree that "dialed in/phoned in" usually means "did a minimal job," but I don't think that's the meaning here. I think it means that they've really focused their efforts. The reason I don't think it's referring to a minimal job here is that the sentence concludes with the phrase "the modern versions I have are perfect." How could they be perfect if someone did such a mediocre job?

I think I have heard this before, though not often. I did find an applicable definition here: http://www.englishbaby.com/lessons/4568/slang/dialed_in

Note: Crossposted with Myridon.
I agree that "dialed in/phoned in" usually means "did a minimal job," but I don't think that's the meaning here. I think it means that they've really focused their efforts. The reason I don't think it's referring to a minimal job here is that the sentence concludes with the phrase "the modern versions I have are perfect." How could they be perfect if someone did such a mediocre job?

I think I have heard this before, though not often. I did find an applicable definition here: http://www.englishbaby.com/lessons/4568/slang/dialed_in

Note: Crossposted with Myridon.

But Kate, the original post does not say anything about being perfect. The original post only talks aobut giving up.
"Dial in" also has a meaning of "fine tuning" or "perfecting". I think that is the sense that this is being used.

I'm just dialing in the recipe for my double chocolate cake and then it is off to the publisher.

I suspect this meaning is from short wave radio or some such analog device that required precise adjustment.

Here is an example where they explain how to adjust a swimming pool skimmer (or maybe a tropical fish tank skimmer): http://coralvue.com/how-to-dial-in-a-skimmer/

"How to dial in a skimmer..."

Note: I am at work and posting between phone calls. Others have mentioned this after I started, but before I posted. I don't think that the context is conclusive, but I am tending to agree that it probably was meant to be "phone-in" (do a minimal amount of work).
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But Kate, the original post does not say anything about being perfect. The original post only talks aobut giving up.

Well, I could be misinterpreting, of course, but I thought the sentence Lucky is asking about is this one: "As of late, they have really dialed in on the quality and all the modern versions I have are perfect."

It sounds to me as though the writer is saying the quality has really improved.
In Lucky's post, the meaning is clearly "to perfect, to hone, to focus." In the original post, the meaning is clearly "to stop trying." Also I'd like to point out that the two constructions seem to be different - "to dial in on X" and "to dial it in," respectively. Obviously, one is transitive and the other intransitive, too.

This is a fascinating discussion for me, because I have never heard "to dial in" meaning "to perfect." To me, "to dial it in" is always a synonym for "to phone it in." I would use this phrase and I would expect to hear it at least once a week. (My Californian accent prefers words with higher-pitched vowels, so I would in general prefer "dial" to "phone.")

Actually, when I read the citation in Lucky's post, I was sure that "dial in on" was an error. I thought it must have been a typo for "to zero in on​."
Hello!
Could you please help me with this phrase. Here's the sentence:
"One woman we spoke to said she began to "just dial it in" when she realized her boss wouldn't let her do anything on her own"
What is the meaning of dial something in?

Thanks.

Hi all,

I'm currently reading a forum about M3 Trench knives and here is what I found :

"A good example of improved and consistent quality control is found on the products from the Ka-Bar co. When they decided to reproduce the 1219C2 in the mid 70's, the workmanship varied greatly. I have seen many with a poorly ground top edge that resembles a banana. As of late, they have really dialed in on the quality and all the modern versions I have are perfect."

Please, what does it mean ? Well, I guess that the "on" is linked to the word "quality". But what about "dial in" ?

Have they improved the quality of the knives ?

Thanks in advance for your help !
I think these two uses (or questionable uses) are not the same. The first one still confuses me but the second one refers to adjusting the (notional perhaps) dials in a manufacturing process and increasing the quality of its output (the knives).
I think these two uses (or questionable uses) are not the same. The first one still confuses me but the second one refers to adjusting the (notional perhaps) dials in a manufacturing process and increasing the quality of its output (the knives).
In terms of the blue: I entirely agree with the point that these two uses are not the same.

In terms of the red: I'm still very surprised that the other posters are familiar with the second but not the first. I would say that the second one still confuses me, while the first (to me) quite plainly refers to the idea of "phoning it in," i.e. not trying hard, working but without putting in any solid, sustained, or sincere effort.
Both uses are known to me, though the second one is the most familiar. I think this is one of those cases in which considering two related expressions actually increases the confusion, which is unusual.
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