Definition
To fulfill a responsibility with a minimum effort rather than the appropriate level of effort.
In Context
- "phone it in"
- "He thought he could phone in the scheduling process, but it takes sharp negotiations around here."
- "He thought he could phone it in. [pronoun antecedent: the scheduling process]"
- "We're sick of Alice's attitude. She's been phoning it in ever since Bob left. [pronoun antecedent: notional: either "her job" or undefined]"
- "But here was someone who could have been paid regally for just phoning it in for another year or two willing instead to throw that all away"
- "his new show with Julia Child -- "Julia and Jacques Cooking At Home" on WMPT Channel 22 -- is a clever marketing stroke, but at times both of these veteran teachers seem to be phoning it in."
- "And I think our campaign put a lot more on the line, frankly, to try to solve that problem than Senator Obama, who tried to phone it in."