r/technology • u/ourlifeintoronto • Sep 10 '23

Transportation Lithium discovery in US volcano could be biggest deposit ever found

https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/lithium-discovery-in-us-volcano-could-be-biggest-deposit-ever-found/4018032.article
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u/fatcat111 Sep 11 '23

You are being downvoted for some reason, but dropping a dime refers to snitching. Dropping a dime into a pay phone to contact the authorities. OP is right though, he just used the wrong idiom.

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u/ObiOneKenobae Sep 11 '23

It's been used the way he used it for decades.

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u/rshorning Sep 11 '23

It can also mean simply spending a whole lot of money. It can have multiple meanings at the same time, with even regional and sub-culture influence also having an impact on how a phrase like that is used.

It really isn't even the wrong idiom, just perhaps you might not be from the same part of the world that the poster is from. Or you might have a slightly different religious or ethnic background too.

The price for making a phone call on a pay phone has changed quite a bit over the years, and was only a dime for a specific period of time. That said, I do remember when first aid kits had a dime taped inside the box so you could call emergency services like police or a hospital...before 9-1-1 or other organized emergency service call centers were common.

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u/Kolby_Jack Sep 11 '23

What's a pay phone?

This joke brought to you by the year 2023. "2023! That show you loved in middle school is now old enough to drink!"

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u/krozarEQ Sep 11 '23

It's where your phone breaks so you go to a little booth thing and buy a prepaid cell phone with a $15 card.

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u/Beznia Sep 11 '23 edited Sep 11 '23

The phrase has definitely changed meanings. It's a pretty common expression to say "Man, he dropped a dime or two on that new boat."

"I'm about to drop a dime on my roof, not looking forward to that bill..."