I don’t think I have ever heard it in real life - only tv and the movies. My favorite example is from ~40 years ago. In WarGames a general is fond of chewing tobacco and runs NORAD. The defcon setting has just been changed to 4 (or 3?) and he says “Get me the president on the horn.” What could be more American than all of that?
It’s such a fun turn of phrase
I don’t think I have ever heard it in real life - only tv and the movies. My favorite example is from ~40 years ago. In WarGames a general is fond of chewing tobacco and runs NORAD. The defcon setting has just been changed to 4 (or 3?) and he says “Get me the president on the horn.” What could be more American than all of that?
I use it, but I am also from ~40 years ago. It’s one of my fav old-timey expressions.
Things escalating means DEFCON goes down, so probably 3.