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harmonica bug

noun

Etymology

From harmonica for the tone that activates or deactivates the device, and bug (an electronic eavesdropping device).

Definitions

  1. An electronic eavesdropping device (bug) that attaches to a landline telephone and is…

    An electronic eavesdropping device (bug) that attaches to a landline telephone and is activated or deactivated by a specific tone. When activated, it prevents the telephone from ringing but activates its microphone to transmit to another telephone at a remote location.

    • The most interesting device for tapping a telephone, though, is still the old reliable “harmonica bug,” which was invented in the early sixties by an electronics wizard from Lower Manhattan, Emanuel Mittleman.
    • Whoever invented the harmonica bug realized that it's nearly impossible to find a bug that isn't operating, so he devised one that can be turned on and off by remote control.
    • It is, of course, tough to find a bug that isn't operating, which is at the heart of the harmonica bug principle.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for harmonica bug. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA