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==Explanation==
 
==Explanation==
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"Squirrelphone" is a {{w|Compound (linguistics)|compound word}} combining "{{w|squirrel}}" and "{{w|phone}}".
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A "squirrelphone" is a compound word combining "{{w|squirrel}}" and "{{w|phone}}".
  
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In this comic, we see a squirrel pretend to be a telephone, only to bite [[Cueball]] when he tries to pick it up and use it as one. This is humorous because a living squirrel is not an appropriate creature to maintain a phone call.{{Citation needed}}
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In this comic, we see a squirrel pretend to be a telephone, only to bite [[Cueball]] who tries to pick it up and use it as one. This is humorous because a living squirrel is not an appropriate creature to maintain a phone call{{Citation needed}}. This could be seen as an example of mimicry in Nature, or parasitism where one creature gains a benefit from another.
  
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The sounds the squirrel makes correspond to the tones that the terminals make when you use the POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) in the US:
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It is an allusion to the vampire squirrel documented over the weekend that allegedly 'attacked and killed' a deer.  The comic follows the absurd conclusion that the squirrel uses mimicry to 'attack and kill' humans. [[Cueball]] is lucky to still be alive{{Citation needed}}.
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*When someone else calls you and the receiver of your phone is on the hook, the phone makes loud and long "riiing riiiing" tones. This is the case in the first frame of the comic.
 
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*If a phone is left off hook without use for too long (referenced in the title text), an {{w|off-hook tone}} is played. This is to alert anyone present that the phone is off-hook. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls. Once on-hook, the receiver can be picked up again to dial. In this case, this means having the squirrel back on the stump.
 
  
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[[:Category:Squirrels|Squirrels]] are a recurring theme in xkcd. They also appear in ''[[what if? (blog)|what if?]]'', where it has for instance been used as a cute animal to replace a drawing of something scary or unpleasant like in the articles ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/98/ Blood Alcohol]'' or ''[https://what-if.xkcd.com/105/ Cannibalism]''.
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The sounds the squirrel makes correspond to the tones that the terminals made when you used the POTS (Plain Old Telephone Service) in the US:
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* When someone else called you and the receiver of your phone was on the hook, the phone made loud and long "riiing riiiing" tones. --- This is the case in the first frame of the comic.
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* When you picked the receiver up, the phone call was established and no extra noises were made.
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* When no phone call was established and you picked up, a continuous humming tone was heard, meaning the service was up and you could dial someone else's number. (A {{w|dial tone}})
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* When no phone call was established but dialling was not possible, short "bip bip bip bip" tones (known as "fast busy") were heard. This happened either when an existing call ended or was interrupted or you had had the receiver off hook for too long (about half a minute) without dialing --- This is the case in the title text of the comic ---. In this case, you should hang up so that you can receive calls or pick the receiver up again and dial.
  
 
==Transcript==
 
==Transcript==
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:Squirrel: Riiiiiing
 
:Squirrel: Riiiiiing
  
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:[Cueball has picked up the squirrel and is holding it to his left ear.]
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:[Cueball has picked up the squirrel and is holding it to his left ear]
 
:Cueball: Hello?
 
:Cueball: Hello?
  
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:[The squirrel bites Cueball's head.]
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:[The squirrel bites Cueball's head]
 
:Squirrel: Chomp!
 
:Squirrel: Chomp!
 
:Cueball: Ow!
 
:Cueball: Ow!
  
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:[Cueball holds his hand to his cheek while the squirrel leaps away, fleeing.]
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:[Cueball holds his hand to his cheek while the squirrel leaps away, fleeing]
 
:Cueball: ???
 
:Cueball: ???
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{{comic discussion}}
 
{{comic discussion}}
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[[Category:Squirrels]]
 
[[Category:Squirrels]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
 
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
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[[Category:Phones]]
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[[Category:Portmanteau]]

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