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quick squawk

benjaminbosquier

Senior Member
français - France
Hello! how do you understand "squawk" in this extract from chapter 9 of The great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald?

"Hello!" I interrupted breathlessly. "Look here—this isn't Mr. Gatsby. Mr. Gatsby's dead."
There was a long silence on the other end of the wire, followed by an exclamation . . . then a quick squawk as the connection was broken.

Does it mean "strident sound"? a "click"? or a sort of "cry"?

Thank you
thank you. Is-this a normal word when the communication is broken or a metaphorical / singular one?
We don't tend to hear squeals or squawks nowadays when we lose connection, but I guess they did in the days when the story was written or set, and so the word may well have been an accurate description of the sound.
Chickens squawk. I assume the connection was broken because the caller made a similar noise and put the phone down because they were upset.
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