Burner

It turns out that those cheap little cell phones without a contract are not really called burners. And when you demand a burner cell phone at Walmart, people start treating you all weird.

15 responses to “Burner”

  1. Crystallizing chaos Avatar
    Crystallizing chaos

    Ha ha. I think burner is like ‘perp’. You’re only allowed to use it if you’re playing a law enforcement officer on TV. 😀

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      Yeah, I got it from TV shows. It must have sounded beyond ridiculous. 😄

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  2. Dreidel Avatar
    Dreidel

    “when you demand a burner cell phone at Walmart, people start treating you all weird.”

    Maybe they thought you were demanding a Samsung Galaxy Note 7. 🙂

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      Ha ha ha! Great joke!!!

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  3. Pen Avatar

    What do they call them, if they don’t call them burner phones? Just cheap phones?

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    1. Dreidel Avatar
      Dreidel

      They’re called “prepaid phones” or “no-contract phones.”

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      1. Pen Avatar

        Oh. I know people whose sole cell phone is prepaid, so I guess I just thought they were regular cell phones. For some reason “burner phone” calls to mind a person who has a regular phone and a disposable one on the side.

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  4. xykademiqz Avatar

    Prepaid or pay-as-you-go phones.
    If you are a perp or a mobster, you get to call them burners.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      The store assistant asked me if I expected a very high volume of calls on this. . . erm, burner. 😄

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  5. Shakti Avatar
    Shakti

    Why did they look at you funny, Clarissa?

    Several years ago I walked into a cell phone store and asked about “burners” the cell phone salesperson didn’t blink but just pointed me to a wall. I either look innocent or they were used to people asking about “burners”, or just happy I hadn’t figured out Google Voice. ( I had a flip phone.) I said I wanted to replicate this woman’s experiment which is exactly as bananas as it sounds (I abandoned the idea as quickly as I had it. It was too expensive and unworkable on the site I wanted to use it on. Plus it didn’t jibe with my personality at all.)

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      I hate Walmart, so I probably looked shifty and uncomfortable.

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  6. Vic Crain Avatar

    Context is everything. I’m laughing hysterically since I know what your area is like. If you were in Chicago, LA or New York, no one would bat an eyelash.

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    1. Clarissa Avatar

      Yeah. . . It’s not the right place for this kind of thing at all. 😄

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      1. The Dark Avenger Avatar
        The Dark Avenger

        At least you weren’t looking for some nuclear wessles.

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        1. Clarissa Avatar

          With a notable Russian accent that I have, it would make quite an impression. 😆

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