Hi! I’d like to know what “hold all my calls” means.
I’ve just come across this sentence in an exercise (TOEIC listening part IV, set 5, exercise 8).
I wonder whether the speaker is telling his secretary to answer all the calls he’ll be receiving while he’s out or rather “put them on hold” until he arrives. I guess the first option makes more sense. Am I right? Thanks!
Hi Betty,
It means that he does not want to be disturbed or interrupted by phone calls. This sentence might be used, for example, if he will be interviewing an applicant for a job for the next hour and would rather not receive any calls during the interview. In this situation, the secretary will answer phone calls and then tell the caller that her boss is busy (or ‘tied up’) at the moment. She would then most likely offer to take a message, and/or tell the caller that the boss will return the call as soon as he is free.
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[size=75]“A bee is never as busy as it seems; it’s just that it can’t buzz any slower.” ~ Kim Hubbard[/size]
Can I, at this side of the pond and in such a case, also say
…tell the caller that the boss will return the call as soon as he is open.
Thanks
Hi E2e4,
No, ‘open’ is not possible in such a context. You could use a word such as ‘available’ instead of ‘free’, but the use of ‘free’ is very typical in this context.
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[size=75]“Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” ~ Albert Einstein[/size]
I liked this “tied up” and I’m going to use it from now on.