Why are commentators still talking about things being “dialed up?” On sports coverage, they are always saying things like “the defensive coach is dialing up a blitz package.” In politics, they say the candidate is “dialing up negative ads against his opponent.”
Dial tones went out in the late fifties and early sixties. I can just barely remember rotary phones where you actually “dialed up” the number of the person you wanted. Push buttons and now digital have replaced dialing completely. I guess “dialing” it up just sounds better than “pushing” it up but still it must be confusing to young folks when someone comments that this or that is being dialed up.
