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As with so many new words in the last decade or two, this one has been spawned by new technology. Specifically, cell phones of the non-clamshell design that, when placed unlocked in a back pocket or purse, can have buttons accidentally pressed. In most cases, the button configuration is likely to dial the "last number called" or "last caller." There are stories online of some embarrassing situations that resulted. For example: http://gawker.com/5725279/the-worst-butt-dialing-fiasco-ever.
I was unaware of this term until I received such a call from my brother. He explained how he must have "butt dialed" and apologized. I knew what he meant immediately, but didn't know it was a popular term until it happened again just yesterday with a client of mine (who also used that expression).
So I'll buy the case for adding this new term to the vocabulary. It's in the slang dictionaries already, and will no doubt be added to the "real" dictionaries at some point. But I have to wonder if the "keepers of the language" will consider it a valid entry, or decline to include it based on the idea that it may quickly become archaic following some technological solution? That could be a valid reason, since 911 operators claim that fully half their calls these days are "butt dials" and tie up crucial emergency response time, and they are pushing hard for a solution.
My question: Do the "real" dictionaries use any criteria beyond frequency of use for adopting a new word? I'm sure Grant could answer that question, but probably some forum members also know about the criteria used.
Heimhenge said
911 operators claim that fully half their calls these days are "butt dials" and tie up crucial emergency response time, and they are pushing hard for a solution.
They could start by making the phone manufacturers not automatically route 000 calls to 911. I once "shoulder-harness-dialed" emergency services (I keep my phone in a shirt pocket) this way. I get that you might need to be able to dial for help when you can't see the keypad, but since you get in special trouble for not answering the callback it's pretty irresponsible to set that up to happen when someone's driving.
As far as that goes, when's thew last time you actually dialed a phone. When I was a lod, I remember visiting shirttail relations who had a switchboard in their home, and they used patch cords to connect one line to another.
My first wife went on a Florida trip when she got out of high school in 1967, and had the hardest time calling home. Most everybody hsad Direct Distance Dialing at the time, but their little independent telco didn't have local dialing yet. Her phone was something like "line 38, two shorts and a long" and the company was between area code 219 (noirthern Indiana) and 317 (central Indiana). When she tried to call, operators would assume she was engaged in a practical joke and would hang up on her.
I don't think I've used a phone with a dial since the 1980s. I used to be able to make outgoing calls on a phone with a dial lock. Depress the receiver button at a regular rate of 3-4 times per second, doing it ten times for a zero.
I suspect people will be using "butt dialing" for random wrong numbers long after the ability to dial a wrong number with a phone is consttrained. Clamshell phones became popular because people were getting bills for 3- and 4-hour calls that they didn't think they were making.
deaconB said: I suspect people will be using “butt dialing” for random wrong numbers long after the ability to dial a wrong number with a phone is constrained.
An excellent point, even though the phrase would then be a double anachronism. Like most, I haven't actually dialed a phone since probably the 80s. Amazing how ingrained that term has become this far into the age of push-button phones. When the technology becomes totally voice activated (and trust that it will), perhaps then the word "dial" will fade into antiquity and be replaced by "call" which at that point would be literally the action required to initiate the conversation? I mean, we already use the term as a synonym for "dial." Even then, I suppose if a particularly loud blast of flatulence initiated the call, one might say it was a "butt call." 
Speaking of antiquated terms, just last night I caught myself asking the wife "What's on the tube tonite?" even though our flat panel TV hasn't got a single tube in it. There's been several threads on similar topics. One I recall was about the meaning of "clockwise" in an era of digital displays, and expanded to other examples of words that are losing connection to their etymological roots.
deaconB said
As far as that goes, when's thew last time you actually dialed a phone. When I was a lod, I remember visiting shirttail relations who had a switchboard in their home, and they used patch cords to connect one line to another.
My wife reports that her friend has a dial app on her smartphone.
EmmettRedd said: My wife reports that her friend has a dial app on her smartphone.
Seen those. Some even make a sound like the old rotary devices. Kinda' like the "shutter click" on a smartphone camera ... it's only there to let you know you took a photo. Otherwise the process is silent since there ain't no shutter or other moving parts. With most phones, you can turn that feature off and actually save a little battery time, especially if you shoot a lot of photos.
Heimhenge said
Speaking of antiquated terms, just last night I caught myself asking the wife "What's on the tube tonite?" even though our flat panel TV hasn't got a single tube in it. There's been several threads on similar topics. One I recall was about the meaning of "clockwise" in an era of digital displays, and expanded to other examples of words that are losing connection to their etymological roots.
Harlan Ellison published a collect of his television reviews as "The Glass Teat" and then a second volume later on as "The Other Glass Teat". I had high hopes for a third volume, not only because the reviews were entertaining, but the title would have been, ahem, even more entertaining.
The "Emmy" awards are actually named for the image orthicon tube that fell out of use in favor of charge-coupled devices in the 1980s. It seems funny to see a young miss gush over an Emmy. On the other hand, if they were to name it after modern flat screen technology. it'd be funny to see super-siliconized airheads get the "flatty" award.
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