"phone tag" meaning in English

{
  "etymology_text": "phone + tag (children's game)",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "phone tag (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with topic categories using raw markup",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "topical",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Telephony",
          "orig": "en:Telephony",
          "parents": [
            "Electronics",
            "Telecommunications",
            "Technology",
            "Communication",
            "All topics",
            "Fundamental"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2000, Sharon MacDonald, Gilbert Cockton, People and Computers XIV - Usability Or Else!: Proceedings of HCI 2000",
          "text": "What frequently results is a game of phone tag. One party tries to reach another, is unable to, and leaves voice-mail indicating an interest in finding a time to meet. The other party returns the call, more often than not fails to reach the original caller, and leaves voice-mail in response.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005, Dorothy A. Maxwell, Phone Skills for the Information Age",
          "text": "Avoid phone tag, which results when two parties go back and forth trying to reach each other by phone.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2006, Steven Fishman, Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Consultants",
          "text": "To reduce the time you spend playing phone tag, ask what time the client will be in and call back then.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A situation in which two individuals attempting to contact each other by telephone repeatedly do not get a live person and instead trade messages, such as by voice mail."
      ],
      "id": "en-phone_tag-en-noun-XLsHr-73",
      "links": [
        [
          "situation",
          "situation"
        ],
        [
          "voice mail",
          "voice mail"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) A situation in which two individuals attempting to contact each other by telephone repeatedly do not get a live person and instead trade messages, such as by voice mail."
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "telephone tag"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-phone tag.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/58/En-au-phone_tag.ogg/En-au-phone_tag.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/En-au-phone_tag.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "word": "phone tag"
}

{
  "etymology_text": "phone + tag (children's game)",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "phone tag (uncountable)",
      "name": "en-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English entries with topic categories using raw markup",
        "English idioms",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English nouns",
        "English terms with audio links",
        "English terms with non-redundant non-automated sortkeys",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncountable nouns",
        "Quotation templates to be cleaned",
        "en:Telephony"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "ref": "2000, Sharon MacDonald, Gilbert Cockton, People and Computers XIV - Usability Or Else!: Proceedings of HCI 2000",
          "text": "What frequently results is a game of phone tag. One party tries to reach another, is unable to, and leaves voice-mail indicating an interest in finding a time to meet. The other party returns the call, more often than not fails to reach the original caller, and leaves voice-mail in response.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2005, Dorothy A. Maxwell, Phone Skills for the Information Age",
          "text": "Avoid phone tag, which results when two parties go back and forth trying to reach each other by phone.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2006, Steven Fishman, Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Independent Contractors, Freelancers & Consultants",
          "text": "To reduce the time you spend playing phone tag, ask what time the client will be in and call back then.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A situation in which two individuals attempting to contact each other by telephone repeatedly do not get a live person and instead trade messages, such as by voice mail."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "situation",
          "situation"
        ],
        [
          "voice mail",
          "voice mail"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(idiomatic) A situation in which two individuals attempting to contact each other by telephone repeatedly do not get a live person and instead trade messages, such as by voice mail."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "idiomatic",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "audio": "En-au-phone tag.ogg",
      "mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/5/58/En-au-phone_tag.ogg/En-au-phone_tag.ogg.mp3",
      "ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/En-au-phone_tag.ogg",
      "tags": [
        "Australia"
      ],
      "text": "Audio (AU)"
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "telephone tag"
    }
  ],
  "word": "phone tag"
}