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Why are phonewords called vanity numbers?
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A vanity number is a local or toll-free telephone number for which a subscriber requests an easily remembered sequence of numbers for marketing purposes.
While many of these are phonewords (such as 1-800-Flowers, 313-DETROIT, 1-800-Taxicab or 1-800-Battery), occasionally all-numeric vanity phone numbers are used.
Accorging to Google Books the expression is from the late ’80s but why ‘vanity’?
Is vanity number the more common expression to refer to these ofen used numeric/alphanumeric numbers?
Is it only AmE usage or is it also British?
word-usage
asked 53 mins ago
user070221
18.8k851121
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
A vanity number is a local or toll-free telephone number for which a subscriber requests an easily remembered sequence of numbers for marketing purposes.
While many of these are phonewords (such as 1-800-Flowers, 313-DETROIT, 1-800-Taxicab or 1-800-Battery), occasionally all-numeric vanity phone numbers are used.
Accorging to Google Books the expression is from the late ’80s but why ‘vanity’?
Is vanity number the more common expression to refer to these ofen used numeric/alphanumeric numbers?
Is it only AmE usage or is it also British?
word-usage
asked 53 mins ago
user070221
18.8k851121
4
Vanity numbers: by analogy with vanity plates. American usage, I'd think. Phone numbers aren't generally alphabetised that way in the UK. Vanity number is a new one to me.
– tmgr
50 mins ago
@tmgr I don't think anywhere still alphabetises like that in the mobile era. But I definitely did see phone numbers like this in the UK in the 80s/90s.
– Jontia
21 mins ago
@Jonita It's a dying art, indeed! I've seen 'em too, back in the day, but they were nowhere near as ubiquitous as in the States; we just didn't have the letters on our rented BT rotary phones. But all that's neither here nor there re OP's question; I don't think they were ever called vanity numbers in the UK, be they nice number combinations or phonewords. Still, vanity plate is now generally understood in the UK (as opposed to personalised number plate, which just rolls off the tongue), so I'd think most folk would 'get it' even if they'd never heard it.
– tmgr
12 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
up vote
1
down vote
favorite
A vanity number is a local or toll-free telephone number for which a subscriber requests an easily remembered sequence of numbers for marketing purposes.
While many of these are phonewords (such as 1-800-Flowers, 313-DETROIT, 1-800-Taxicab or 1-800-Battery), occasionally all-numeric vanity phone numbers are used.
Accorging to Google Books the expression is from the late ’80s but why ‘vanity’?
Is vanity number the more common expression to refer to these ofen used numeric/alphanumeric numbers?
Is it only AmE usage or is it also British?
word-usage
asked 53 mins ago
user070221
18.8k851121
A vanity number is a local or toll-free telephone number for which a subscriber requests an easily remembered sequence of numbers for marketing purposes.
While many of these are phonewords (such as 1-800-Flowers, 313-DETROIT, 1-800-Taxicab or 1-800-Battery), occasionally all-numeric vanity phone numbers are used.
Accorging to Google Books the expression is from the late ’80s but why ‘vanity’?
Is vanity number the more common expression to refer to these ofen used numeric/alphanumeric numbers?
Is it only AmE usage or is it also British?
word-usage
word-usage
asked 53 mins ago
user070221
18.8k851121
asked 53 mins ago
user070221
18.8k851121
edited 45 mins ago
asked 53 mins ago
user070221
18.8k851121
asked 53 mins ago
user070221
18.8k851121
asked 53 mins ago
user070221
18.8k851121
18.8k851121
4
Vanity numbers: by analogy with vanity plates. American usage, I'd think. Phone numbers aren't generally alphabetised that way in the UK. Vanity number is a new one to me.
– tmgr
50 mins ago
@tmgr I don't think anywhere still alphabetises like that in the mobile era. But I definitely did see phone numbers like this in the UK in the 80s/90s.
– Jontia
21 mins ago
@Jonita It's a dying art, indeed! I've seen 'em too, back in the day, but they were nowhere near as ubiquitous as in the States; we just didn't have the letters on our rented BT rotary phones. But all that's neither here nor there re OP's question; I don't think they were ever called vanity numbers in the UK, be they nice number combinations or phonewords. Still, vanity plate is now generally understood in the UK (as opposed to personalised number plate, which just rolls off the tongue), so I'd think most folk would 'get it' even if they'd never heard it.
– tmgr
12 mins ago
add a comment |Â
4
Vanity numbers: by analogy with vanity plates. American usage, I'd think. Phone numbers aren't generally alphabetised that way in the UK. Vanity number is a new one to me.
– tmgr
50 mins ago
@tmgr I don't think anywhere still alphabetises like that in the mobile era. But I definitely did see phone numbers like this in the UK in the 80s/90s.
– Jontia
21 mins ago
@Jonita It's a dying art, indeed! I've seen 'em too, back in the day, but they were nowhere near as ubiquitous as in the States; we just didn't have the letters on our rented BT rotary phones. But all that's neither here nor there re OP's question; I don't think they were ever called vanity numbers in the UK, be they nice number combinations or phonewords. Still, vanity plate is now generally understood in the UK (as opposed to personalised number plate, which just rolls off the tongue), so I'd think most folk would 'get it' even if they'd never heard it.
– tmgr
12 mins ago
4
4
Vanity numbers: by analogy with vanity plates. American usage, I'd think. Phone numbers aren't generally alphabetised that way in the UK. Vanity number is a new one to me.
– tmgr
50 mins ago
Vanity numbers: by analogy with vanity plates. American usage, I'd think. Phone numbers aren't generally alphabetised that way in the UK. Vanity number is a new one to me.
– tmgr
50 mins ago
@tmgr I don't think anywhere still alphabetises like that in the mobile era. But I definitely did see phone numbers like this in the UK in the 80s/90s.
– Jontia
21 mins ago
@tmgr I don't think anywhere still alphabetises like that in the mobile era. But I definitely did see phone numbers like this in the UK in the 80s/90s.
– Jontia
21 mins ago
@Jonita It's a dying art, indeed! I've seen 'em too, back in the day, but they were nowhere near as ubiquitous as in the States; we just didn't have the letters on our rented BT rotary phones. But all that's neither here nor there re OP's question; I don't think they were ever called vanity numbers in the UK, be they nice number combinations or phonewords. Still, vanity plate is now generally understood in the UK (as opposed to personalised number plate, which just rolls off the tongue), so I'd think most folk would 'get it' even if they'd never heard it.
– tmgr
12 mins ago
@Jonita It's a dying art, indeed! I've seen 'em too, back in the day, but they were nowhere near as ubiquitous as in the States; we just didn't have the letters on our rented BT rotary phones. But all that's neither here nor there re OP's question; I don't think they were ever called vanity numbers in the UK, be they nice number combinations or phonewords. Still, vanity plate is now generally understood in the UK (as opposed to personalised number plate, which just rolls off the tongue), so I'd think most folk would 'get it' even if they'd never heard it.
– tmgr
12 mins ago
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
Usually things are given the "Vanity" prefix when you're paying extra to get something that doesn't serve a functional purpose.
As @tmgr noted, the most common analogy is Vanity Plates, a car license plate that spells a word, but doesn't add anything, Like this one for £4000. Vanity publishing, is where an author pays for something to be published instead of the publisher paying the author, which is the more traditional situation.
The underlying premise is that the person buying this vanity service wants it for nothing more than to show off. It is potentially slightly misplaced with respect to these phone numbers, as they serve the purpose of making the businesses' number more memorable than a rival service. Very useful in the pre-mobile era.
vanity 1. excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.
"it flattered his vanity to think I was in love with him"
synonyms: conceit, conceitedness, self-conceit, narcissism, self-love, self-admiration, self-regard, self-absorption, self-obsession, self-centredness, egotism, egoism, egocentrism, egomania;
answered 22 mins ago
Jontia
20129
1
I'm not sure why vanity phone numbers would be less useful in the "mobile era". Sure, these days you can save numbers on your phone and attach a name to them, so you don't have to remember your friend's phone numbers. But with a business name, the idea is that you see or hear it in an advertisement and remember it later. Like, I don't have 1-800-FLOWERS on my cell phone. But if I had a sudden desire to order flowers, I remember that number even though I've never called them in my life.
– Jay
13 mins ago
@Jay, while that's true, in the mobile era I don't have to remember any numbers any more because the last flower shop I used is already in my phone. A decent website is more useful than a memorable number, so maybe I should have said "smart phone" rather than "mobile" era.
– Jontia
4 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
The AHD's primary meaning of the noun vanity is typical:
Excessive pride in one's appearance or accomplishments; conceit.
It follows that a vanity product or service is one that is purchased in order to feed one's vanity, by drawing attention or by artificially boosting one's stature to outward appearances. The oldest derived term in the OED is vanity publisher, attested from at least 1922, a publisher who publishes only at the author's expense. In other words, a vanity publisher is a press that someone pays so that he or she can call him- or herself a published author, in contrast to a traditional publisher, which would pay the author for printing rights, as well as in contrast to self-publishing, where the author produces and maintains control of the entire product.
A more familiar term is vanity plate, for a car license plate on which the registrant chooses a custom/personal word or slogan instead of having random letters or numbers assigned.
Vanity phone numbers, vanity URLs, vanity DNS nameservers… these are all very mildly disparaging terms for ways where someone can pay a little extra money to stand out from the crowd.
answered 19 mins ago
choster
35.3k1479129
add a comment |Â
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
2 Answers
2
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
up vote
3
down vote
Usually things are given the "Vanity" prefix when you're paying extra to get something that doesn't serve a functional purpose.
As @tmgr noted, the most common analogy is Vanity Plates, a car license plate that spells a word, but doesn't add anything, Like this one for £4000. Vanity publishing, is where an author pays for something to be published instead of the publisher paying the author, which is the more traditional situation.
The underlying premise is that the person buying this vanity service wants it for nothing more than to show off. It is potentially slightly misplaced with respect to these phone numbers, as they serve the purpose of making the businesses' number more memorable than a rival service. Very useful in the pre-mobile era.
vanity 1. excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.
"it flattered his vanity to think I was in love with him"
synonyms: conceit, conceitedness, self-conceit, narcissism, self-love, self-admiration, self-regard, self-absorption, self-obsession, self-centredness, egotism, egoism, egocentrism, egomania;
answered 22 mins ago
Jontia
20129
1
I'm not sure why vanity phone numbers would be less useful in the "mobile era". Sure, these days you can save numbers on your phone and attach a name to them, so you don't have to remember your friend's phone numbers. But with a business name, the idea is that you see or hear it in an advertisement and remember it later. Like, I don't have 1-800-FLOWERS on my cell phone. But if I had a sudden desire to order flowers, I remember that number even though I've never called them in my life.
– Jay
13 mins ago
@Jay, while that's true, in the mobile era I don't have to remember any numbers any more because the last flower shop I used is already in my phone. A decent website is more useful than a memorable number, so maybe I should have said "smart phone" rather than "mobile" era.
– Jontia
4 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
Usually things are given the "Vanity" prefix when you're paying extra to get something that doesn't serve a functional purpose.
As @tmgr noted, the most common analogy is Vanity Plates, a car license plate that spells a word, but doesn't add anything, Like this one for £4000. Vanity publishing, is where an author pays for something to be published instead of the publisher paying the author, which is the more traditional situation.
The underlying premise is that the person buying this vanity service wants it for nothing more than to show off. It is potentially slightly misplaced with respect to these phone numbers, as they serve the purpose of making the businesses' number more memorable than a rival service. Very useful in the pre-mobile era.
vanity 1. excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.
"it flattered his vanity to think I was in love with him"
synonyms: conceit, conceitedness, self-conceit, narcissism, self-love, self-admiration, self-regard, self-absorption, self-obsession, self-centredness, egotism, egoism, egocentrism, egomania;
answered 22 mins ago
Jontia
20129
1
I'm not sure why vanity phone numbers would be less useful in the "mobile era". Sure, these days you can save numbers on your phone and attach a name to them, so you don't have to remember your friend's phone numbers. But with a business name, the idea is that you see or hear it in an advertisement and remember it later. Like, I don't have 1-800-FLOWERS on my cell phone. But if I had a sudden desire to order flowers, I remember that number even though I've never called them in my life.
– Jay
13 mins ago
@Jay, while that's true, in the mobile era I don't have to remember any numbers any more because the last flower shop I used is already in my phone. A decent website is more useful than a memorable number, so maybe I should have said "smart phone" rather than "mobile" era.
– Jontia
4 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
Usually things are given the "Vanity" prefix when you're paying extra to get something that doesn't serve a functional purpose.
As @tmgr noted, the most common analogy is Vanity Plates, a car license plate that spells a word, but doesn't add anything, Like this one for £4000. Vanity publishing, is where an author pays for something to be published instead of the publisher paying the author, which is the more traditional situation.
The underlying premise is that the person buying this vanity service wants it for nothing more than to show off. It is potentially slightly misplaced with respect to these phone numbers, as they serve the purpose of making the businesses' number more memorable than a rival service. Very useful in the pre-mobile era.
vanity 1. excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.
"it flattered his vanity to think I was in love with him"
synonyms: conceit, conceitedness, self-conceit, narcissism, self-love, self-admiration, self-regard, self-absorption, self-obsession, self-centredness, egotism, egoism, egocentrism, egomania;
answered 22 mins ago
Jontia
20129
Usually things are given the "Vanity" prefix when you're paying extra to get something that doesn't serve a functional purpose.
As @tmgr noted, the most common analogy is Vanity Plates, a car license plate that spells a word, but doesn't add anything, Like this one for £4000. Vanity publishing, is where an author pays for something to be published instead of the publisher paying the author, which is the more traditional situation.
The underlying premise is that the person buying this vanity service wants it for nothing more than to show off. It is potentially slightly misplaced with respect to these phone numbers, as they serve the purpose of making the businesses' number more memorable than a rival service. Very useful in the pre-mobile era.
vanity 1. excessive pride in or admiration of one's own appearance or achievements.
"it flattered his vanity to think I was in love with him"
synonyms: conceit, conceitedness, self-conceit, narcissism, self-love, self-admiration, self-regard, self-absorption, self-obsession, self-centredness, egotism, egoism, egocentrism, egomania;
answered 22 mins ago
Jontia
20129
answered 22 mins ago
Jontia
20129
answered 22 mins ago
Jontia
20129
answered 22 mins ago
Jontia
20129
20129
1
I'm not sure why vanity phone numbers would be less useful in the "mobile era". Sure, these days you can save numbers on your phone and attach a name to them, so you don't have to remember your friend's phone numbers. But with a business name, the idea is that you see or hear it in an advertisement and remember it later. Like, I don't have 1-800-FLOWERS on my cell phone. But if I had a sudden desire to order flowers, I remember that number even though I've never called them in my life.
– Jay
13 mins ago
@Jay, while that's true, in the mobile era I don't have to remember any numbers any more because the last flower shop I used is already in my phone. A decent website is more useful than a memorable number, so maybe I should have said "smart phone" rather than "mobile" era.
– Jontia
4 mins ago
add a comment |Â
1
I'm not sure why vanity phone numbers would be less useful in the "mobile era". Sure, these days you can save numbers on your phone and attach a name to them, so you don't have to remember your friend's phone numbers. But with a business name, the idea is that you see or hear it in an advertisement and remember it later. Like, I don't have 1-800-FLOWERS on my cell phone. But if I had a sudden desire to order flowers, I remember that number even though I've never called them in my life.
– Jay
13 mins ago
@Jay, while that's true, in the mobile era I don't have to remember any numbers any more because the last flower shop I used is already in my phone. A decent website is more useful than a memorable number, so maybe I should have said "smart phone" rather than "mobile" era.
– Jontia
4 mins ago
1
1
I'm not sure why vanity phone numbers would be less useful in the "mobile era". Sure, these days you can save numbers on your phone and attach a name to them, so you don't have to remember your friend's phone numbers. But with a business name, the idea is that you see or hear it in an advertisement and remember it later. Like, I don't have 1-800-FLOWERS on my cell phone. But if I had a sudden desire to order flowers, I remember that number even though I've never called them in my life.
– Jay
13 mins ago
I'm not sure why vanity phone numbers would be less useful in the "mobile era". Sure, these days you can save numbers on your phone and attach a name to them, so you don't have to remember your friend's phone numbers. But with a business name, the idea is that you see or hear it in an advertisement and remember it later. Like, I don't have 1-800-FLOWERS on my cell phone. But if I had a sudden desire to order flowers, I remember that number even though I've never called them in my life.
– Jay
13 mins ago
@Jay, while that's true, in the mobile era I don't have to remember any numbers any more because the last flower shop I used is already in my phone. A decent website is more useful than a memorable number, so maybe I should have said "smart phone" rather than "mobile" era.
– Jontia
4 mins ago
@Jay, while that's true, in the mobile era I don't have to remember any numbers any more because the last flower shop I used is already in my phone. A decent website is more useful than a memorable number, so maybe I should have said "smart phone" rather than "mobile" era.
– Jontia
4 mins ago
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
The AHD's primary meaning of the noun vanity is typical:
Excessive pride in one's appearance or accomplishments; conceit.
It follows that a vanity product or service is one that is purchased in order to feed one's vanity, by drawing attention or by artificially boosting one's stature to outward appearances. The oldest derived term in the OED is vanity publisher, attested from at least 1922, a publisher who publishes only at the author's expense. In other words, a vanity publisher is a press that someone pays so that he or she can call him- or herself a published author, in contrast to a traditional publisher, which would pay the author for printing rights, as well as in contrast to self-publishing, where the author produces and maintains control of the entire product.
A more familiar term is vanity plate, for a car license plate on which the registrant chooses a custom/personal word or slogan instead of having random letters or numbers assigned.
Vanity phone numbers, vanity URLs, vanity DNS nameservers… these are all very mildly disparaging terms for ways where someone can pay a little extra money to stand out from the crowd.
answered 19 mins ago
choster
35.3k1479129
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
The AHD's primary meaning of the noun vanity is typical:
Excessive pride in one's appearance or accomplishments; conceit.
It follows that a vanity product or service is one that is purchased in order to feed one's vanity, by drawing attention or by artificially boosting one's stature to outward appearances. The oldest derived term in the OED is vanity publisher, attested from at least 1922, a publisher who publishes only at the author's expense. In other words, a vanity publisher is a press that someone pays so that he or she can call him- or herself a published author, in contrast to a traditional publisher, which would pay the author for printing rights, as well as in contrast to self-publishing, where the author produces and maintains control of the entire product.
A more familiar term is vanity plate, for a car license plate on which the registrant chooses a custom/personal word or slogan instead of having random letters or numbers assigned.
Vanity phone numbers, vanity URLs, vanity DNS nameservers… these are all very mildly disparaging terms for ways where someone can pay a little extra money to stand out from the crowd.
answered 19 mins ago
choster
35.3k1479129
add a comment |Â
up vote
3
down vote
up vote
3
down vote
The AHD's primary meaning of the noun vanity is typical:
Excessive pride in one's appearance or accomplishments; conceit.
It follows that a vanity product or service is one that is purchased in order to feed one's vanity, by drawing attention or by artificially boosting one's stature to outward appearances. The oldest derived term in the OED is vanity publisher, attested from at least 1922, a publisher who publishes only at the author's expense. In other words, a vanity publisher is a press that someone pays so that he or she can call him- or herself a published author, in contrast to a traditional publisher, which would pay the author for printing rights, as well as in contrast to self-publishing, where the author produces and maintains control of the entire product.
A more familiar term is vanity plate, for a car license plate on which the registrant chooses a custom/personal word or slogan instead of having random letters or numbers assigned.
Vanity phone numbers, vanity URLs, vanity DNS nameservers… these are all very mildly disparaging terms for ways where someone can pay a little extra money to stand out from the crowd.
answered 19 mins ago
choster
35.3k1479129
The AHD's primary meaning of the noun vanity is typical:
Excessive pride in one's appearance or accomplishments; conceit.
It follows that a vanity product or service is one that is purchased in order to feed one's vanity, by drawing attention or by artificially boosting one's stature to outward appearances. The oldest derived term in the OED is vanity publisher, attested from at least 1922, a publisher who publishes only at the author's expense. In other words, a vanity publisher is a press that someone pays so that he or she can call him- or herself a published author, in contrast to a traditional publisher, which would pay the author for printing rights, as well as in contrast to self-publishing, where the author produces and maintains control of the entire product.
A more familiar term is vanity plate, for a car license plate on which the registrant chooses a custom/personal word or slogan instead of having random letters or numbers assigned.
Vanity phone numbers, vanity URLs, vanity DNS nameservers… these are all very mildly disparaging terms for ways where someone can pay a little extra money to stand out from the crowd.
answered 19 mins ago
choster
35.3k1479129
answered 19 mins ago
choster
35.3k1479129
answered 19 mins ago
choster
35.3k1479129
answered 19 mins ago
choster
35.3k1479129
35.3k1479129
add a comment |Â
add a comment |Â
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4
Vanity numbers: by analogy with vanity plates. American usage, I'd think. Phone numbers aren't generally alphabetised that way in the UK. Vanity number is a new one to me.
– tmgr
50 mins ago
@tmgr I don't think anywhere still alphabetises like that in the mobile era. But I definitely did see phone numbers like this in the UK in the 80s/90s.
– Jontia
21 mins ago
@Jonita It's a dying art, indeed! I've seen 'em too, back in the day, but they were nowhere near as ubiquitous as in the States; we just didn't have the letters on our rented BT rotary phones. But all that's neither here nor there re OP's question; I don't think they were ever called vanity numbers in the UK, be they nice number combinations or phonewords. Still, vanity plate is now generally understood in the UK (as opposed to personalised number plate, which just rolls off the tongue), so I'd think most folk would 'get it' even if they'd never heard it.
– tmgr
12 mins ago