What Does "Landline" Mean in the Military? We've Got the Tea

Young people are asking what a landline is in the military after the term began trending on TikTok. A landline refers to a telephone that plugs into an outlet on the wall, and most people — especially those of a certain age — already know what a landline is, but the term, when used in the military, often means more than just a phone plugged into the wall.

After cell phones became a regular thing in the mid-2000s, most regular folks got rid of their landlines and opted for mobile phones instead due to convenience. In most cases, only businesses and other organizations kept their landlines, and pay phones all but disappeared as they became obsolete. The U.S. military is one organization that still uses landlines, and TikTok users are making videos joking about having to use them.

When using the term "landline" in the military, it refers to a phone that is plugged into the wall or a phone that uses wires to connect in the field. Landlines are typically more secure than radio transmissions. However, using a landline in the military also has the added meaning of something being serious. TikTok users in the military are making funny videos of themselves being instructed to use a landline.

Using a landline can sometimes indicate that the military members are in trouble for something and need to call their superiors on a landline in order to be chewed out.

TikTok user @jaiyson_in — who is in the Air Force — made a video joking about missing his radio check and having to use a landline to check in.

He captioned the post, "Thank god I never sleep on post. Who do you think I am, a dirtbag or something #secfo #airforce."

Text over the video reads, "When you missed your radio check and have to landline."

Another military man, TikTok user @wooh_man, made a video about having to use a landline after falling asleep. The video features one man trying to wake up two sleeping men inside a vehicle. One man is sleeping in the driver's seat, and the other is sleeping in the passenger's seat. A third man attempts to wake up the sleeping beauties in the video.

"Eh, you know we've been trying to call you for three hours," said the man after knocking on the vehicle's window. After the man in the driver's seat wakes up and checks in on his radio, the voice on the other end of the radio simply responds, "landline," prompting him to exclaim, "Oh, my God!"

The word "landline" also flashes on the screen to a sound effect, much like the one heard in Law & Order as the soldier is instructed to use a landline.

The man in the driver's seat then wakes up the 3rd man and says, "Yo, you're supposed to be up! We're supposed to take turns! You slept already, and then I sleep, and then you sleep! Dang, man."

The video received more than one million likes, and people left remarks in the comment section.

One TikTok user replied, "Soon as he heard 'three hours,' bro was wide awake. I've heard stories of the landline chewing, and I'd never wanted to be on that end."

Another joked, "That landline sounded like my daddy's belt snapping in the '80s."

"I never served, and even I felt that 'Landline,'" noted another.