One of the frequent maddening phrases one hears over the phone when one is put on hold and is asked to wait “for the next available agent/operator/representative.” It is often augmented with “We thank you for your patience,” a quality that the person on hold is generally running out of. It doesn’t seem to matter whether the call concerns an order, complaint, or a question; allegedly all calls are equally important. These usages date from the late 1900s, when waiting for calls to be put through became a kind of art form. Laura Penny used it as the title of her 2005 book, Your Call Is Important to Us: The Truth about Bullshit.