Word.ws English Dictionary

harmonica bug

harmonica bug noun: an electronic eavesdropping device (bug) that attaches to a landline telephone and is activated or deactivated by a specific tone. When activated, it prevents the telephone from ringing but activates its microphone to transmit to another telephone at a remote location.

Noun

harmonica bug (plural harmonica bugs)

  1. An electronic eavesdropping device (bug) that attaches to a landline telephone and is activated or deactivated by a specific tone. When activated, it prevents the telephone from ringing but activates its microphone to transmit to another telephone at a remote location.
    • The most interesting device for tapping a telephone, though, is still the old reliable “harmonica bug,” which was invented in the early sixties by an electronics wizard from Lower Manhattan, Emanuel Mittleman.1975, Alan LeMond, Ron Fry, No Place to Hide, page xii
    • Whoever invented the harmonica bug realized that it's nearly impossible to find a bug that isn't operating, so he devised one that can be turned on and off by remote control.1975, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, Surveillance Technology, page 18

harmonica bug meaning in Tamil

harmonica bug in Tamil

சீரிசை அலைவெண் குறைப்பான்

Examples of harmonica bug in a sentence

  • It is, of course, tough to find a bug that isn't operating, which is at the heart of the harmonica bug principle.1982, Sonny Kleinfield, The Biggest Company on Earth: A Profile of AT & T, page 240:
  • The misplaced telephone receiver suggests they may have left a harmonica bug.1985, Vernon Tom Hyman, Giant Killer, page 78:

Synonyms of harmonica bug

Forms of harmonica bug

pluralharmonica bugs

Origin of harmonica bug

From harmonica for the tone that activates or deactivates the device, and bug (an electronic eavesdropping device).

Questions about harmonica bug

What does harmonica bug mean?
Harmonica bug means an electronic eavesdropping device (bug) that attaches to a landline telephone and is activated or deactivated by a specific tone. When activated, it prevents the telephone from ringing but activates its microphone to transmit to another telephone at a remote location.
What is harmonica bug in Tamil?
Harmonica bug in Tamil is சீரிசை அலைவெண் குறைப்பான். See Harmonica bug meaning in Tamil.
How do you use harmonica bug in a sentence?
It is, of course, tough to find a bug that isn't operating, which is at the heart of the harmonica bug principle.
What part of speech is harmonica bug?
Harmonica bug is a noun.
What is the plural of harmonica bug?
The plural of harmonica bug is harmonica bugs.

Words near harmonica bug in the dictionary

  1. harmonic proportions
  2. harmonic series
  3. harmonic tremor
  4. harmonic tremors
  5. harmonica
  6. harmonica bug
  7. harmonica bugs
  8. harmonicaist
  9. harmonicaists
  10. harmonical
  11. harmonically

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: harmonica bug (page history and authors); harmonica bug (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “harmonica bug.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/harmonica_bug. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.