hold queue / holding pattern
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hold queue
The state of having to wait during a phone call until an employee is available. Music or an automated message is often played during this time.
Ich hing über 15 Minuten in der Warteschleife der Service-Hotline, bevor ich aufgeben habe.
I was stuck in the service hotline’s hold queue for over 15 minutes before I gave up.
holding pattern
In aviation, a defined flight path near an airport that an aircraft follows while waiting for permission to land.
Wegen des starken Gewitters mussten mehrere Flugzeuge eine Warteschleife über dem Flughafen drehen.
Because of the severe thunderstorm, several planes had to circle in a holding pattern over the airport.
The word is made up of 'warten' (to wait) and 'Schleife' (a round, closed shape or loop). So it literally describes a 'Warteschleife' (waiting loop) or a 'Wartekreis' (waiting circle).
Ich hasse es, wenn ich am Telefon in einer Warteschleife lande.
I hate it when I end up in a hold queue on the phone.
In connection with phone calls, the verb 'hängen' (to hang / to be stuck) is used very often: 'in der Warteschleife hängen' (to be stuck in the hold queue). This expresses the passive and often frustrating experience of waiting.
Ich habe zwanzig Minuten in der Warteschleife gehangen, bis jemand den Anruf entgegennahm.
I was stuck in the hold queue for twenty minutes before someone answered the call.
In aviation, the typical verbs are 'eine Warteschleife fliegen' (to fly a holding pattern) or 'eine Warteschleife drehen' (to circle in a holding pattern). This describes the pilot’s active action.
Das Flugzeug musste wegen Nebels eine Warteschleife über der Stadt fliegen.
Because of fog, the plane had to fly a holding pattern over the city.
The context makes the meaning clear. Words like 'Anruf' (call), 'Hotline' (hotline), or 'Telefon' (telephone) point to the phone-related meaning, while 'Flugzeug' (airplane), 'Flughafen' (airport), or 'landen' (to land) refer to aviation.
Die Hotline war überlastet, also hörte ich nur die Musik der Warteschleife.
The hotline was overloaded, so all I heard was the hold music.
queue / line
On a telephone hotline, Warteschlange refers to the organized line of all callers who are waiting. Warteschleife, on the other hand, is the individual state of waiting during a call, often with music or a recorded message. So you wait in the Warteschlange and are placed in the Warteschleife.
Während ich auf einen Mitarbeiter warte, höre ich Musik in der Warteschleife.
While I wait for an employee, I listen to music while I am on hold.
Vor mir warten noch zehn Anrufer in der Warteschlange der Hotline.
Ten callers are still waiting ahead of me in the hotline queue.
