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Stop calling it 'airtime or recharge card'; this is the right word

Stop calling it 'airtime or recharge card'; this is the right word.

Aug 5, 2020

It was a lovely Sunday and you chose to see the beauty of your new environment. You took your time to dress gorgeously and look so handsome. At last, you looked at the mirror and you were satisfied with your look. You dashed out from your house and walked majestically as you noticed few guys of your age staring at you.

You smiled to yourself and your spirit was in the seventh heaven. In a bid to impress them more, you walked towards them and decided to get something from the shop they were standing.

'Good evening, dear,' you said to the beautiful lady you met in the shop.

'Good evening, mister,' she replied.

'Can I have MTN 500 recharge card,' you said with pride.

All of a sudden, those guys and the lady burst into laughter. You were shocked and asked yourself what is wrong? Then you said, 'can I get MTN 500 airtime?' This time, the laughter was so loud and you were really annoyed.

In case, you met yourself in such a pitiable situation and you were really confused, I must tell you that you've said the wrong thing. Permit me to inform you that the card you bought to enable you to make calls on your mobile phone is neither called airtime nor recharge card.

Airtime: this is a noun that either means

 the amount of time that is given to a particular subject on radio or television, or the amount of time that is paid for when you are using a mobile phone (OALD).

However, it does not mean a card that enables you to make calls on your mobile phone. What do you call the card that you bought so that you can have airtime to make calls?

Phone card: 

a card

 you can buy and use to pay 

for

 telephone calls 

from a public and sometime a private telephone (CD).

NOTE: 

while it is known as phone card in United Kingdom, it is known as

 calling card 

in United States of America.

Calling card: 

a card that you

 can buy or use like a credit card 

to

 pay 

for

 phone calls 

, so you do not have to pay with cash.

It is right to make it clear that phone card/ calling card can either be in prepaid form or postpaid form. It behoves me to say that the type we are familiar with in Nigeria is the prepaid type.

 You should be reminded that you can only purchase phone card/ calling card in other to have airtime to put your calls through.

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