CARPHONE

noun Also written car phone or car-phone (Lifestyle and Leisure) (Science and Technology) A radio telephone which can be fitted in and operated from a car. Etymology: Formed by compounding: a phone used in a car. History and Usage: The carphone has been available since the sixties, but only really became popular in the late eighties as less expensive and more reliable models came on to the market. Their popularity, especially among the yuppie set, with whom they were considered a status symbol, has led to concern about the safety of one-handed driving. This was possibly influential in the British government's decision to tax their use more heavily in the April 1991 budget. 'Darling can you keep next Friday free for our appointment at the amniocentesis clinic,' Nicola chirps down the Cellnet (Yuppiespeak for car phone). Today 21 Oct. 1987, p. 36 The carphone, that symbol of success that says you are so much in demand that you cannot afford to be incommunicado for a moment. The Road Ahead (Brisbane) Aug. 1989, p. 19 See also cellular and Vodafone.