What do you call a phone call with no one talking on the other side
Is there a word or expression describing a phone call when the caller doesn't hang up, but also doesn't say anything (or at least nothing can be heard)?
I'm specifically looking for a term describing such call made to scare someone (with the caller breath being heard).
My initial thought was that it's called silent call, but according to Wikipedia it means something different.
Solution 1:
Silent call is still the general term that you are looking for.
Nowadays, it is usually initiated by companies by using technology but it can be deliberately done by a person as well.
A silent call happens when your phone rings but there's only silence when you answer it and you have no means of knowing whether anyone is at the end of the line.
For many people, silent calls can be unnerving or indeed frightening. Almost always there is nothing sinister going on. They are usually caused by companies using predictive diallers or other automated calling systems to make large volumes of calls.
[ofcom.org.uk]
It is also mentioned as a type of nuisance calls:
Nuisance calls are calls that are not indecent, threatening or offensive, but which cause annoyance or anxiety. Silent calls or calls at unsociable hours are two examples.
[thamesvalley.police.uk]
I even found an example that covers faint breathing part in a silent call: (from the book Preacher Man By Charles Carroll Lee)
Solution 2:
I think you have in mind anonymous calls that are generally referred to as heavy breathing phone calls. These calls usally have a sexual connotation.
Heavy breather:
- an anonymous telephone caller who imitates such sounds, as being suggestive of sexual excitement.
(TDF)
Solution 3:
I would call it a prank phone call; specifically a silent prank phone call.
Here's a question about it on Yahoo! Answers. It is entitled "I keep getting silent prank calls."
And here, you can pay good money to have a robo-caller prank your friends and enemies with a silent prank call.