Incoming calls usually go to a receptionist, attendant or operator, who transfers the call to the appropriate person. Some telecom newbies say Key System Unit . Computer guys often call it a Central Processing Unit , or CPU . Old telecom guys call it a switch . Cardiologists call it a heart .
Neurosurgeons call it a brain .
It's OK to say dial, even if you make your calls by tapping buttons on a touch-tone pad. POT , on the other hand, is not a plain old telephone. The story of the octothorpe and other vital telecom info is available in the archives of Telecom Digest . The asterisk under the 7 and to the left of the 0, is called Star. Just as a ship is a big boat, cable used to mean thick wire .