英和和英

名詞

harmonica bug (複数形 harmonica bugs)

1. An electronic eavesdropping device (bug) that attaches to a landline telephone and is activated or deactivated by a specific tone. When activated, it prevents the telephone from ringing but activates its microphone to transmit to another telephone at a remote location.
   • 1975, Alan LeMond, ‎Ron Fry, No Place to Hide, page xii:

     The most interesting device for tapping a telephone, though, is still the old reliable “harmonica bug,” which was invented in the early sixties by an electronics wizard from Lower Manhattan, Emanuel Mittleman.

   • 1975, United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary, ‎United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on the Judiciary. Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, Surveillance Technology, page 18:

     Whoever invented the harmonica bug realized that it's nearly impossible to find a bug that isn't operating, so he devised one that can be turned on and off by remote control.

   • 1982, Sonny Kleinfield, The Biggest Company on Earth: A Profile of AT & T, page 240:

     It is, of course, tough to find a bug that isn't operating, which is at the heart of the harmonica bug principle.

   • 1985, Vernon Tom Hyman, Giant Killer, page 78:

     The misplaced telephone receiver suggests they may have left a harmonica bug.