phreak

[freek] Origin

phreak

[freek] noun, verb, phreaked, phreak·ing.
verb (used without object)
2.
to act as a phone phreak.

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Phreak is one of our favorite verbs.
So is kibitz. Does it mean:
chat, to converse
to flee; abscond:
verb (used with object)
3.
to tamper with (telephones) as a phone phreak does.

Origin:
1970–75; altered spelling of freak1, copying ph- of phone1

freak, phreak.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

phreak
1972, originally in phone phreak, one of a set who defraud telephone companies electronically. The ph- in phone may have suggested the alteration, but this seems to be the original of the 1990s slang fad for substituting ph- for f- (e.g. phat).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary

phreak definition


  1. n.
    a respelling of freak. : You stupid freak! Why'd you do that?
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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