Word for the Day Archive

Phone Plug

Not to be confused with phono plug, a phone plug refers to your standard, run-of-the-mill 1/4" connector. The name gets its origin in the old telephone switchboards where the phone patching cords all had this type of connector on them. While the term phone plug is usually taken to refer to standard 1/4" tip sleeve connectors it has actually come to refer to a family of connectors that are all similar. Phone plugs are available in slightly different sizes and configurations depending upon the applications. Military or "true" phone plugs, for example, are actually slightly longer than our everyday 1/4" plug. A TRS plug is a form of phone plug (again available in "normal" and longer sizes).