Dead air
Radio/TV technical term for broadcast interruption
1. An uncomfortable period of awkward silence that usually occurs in a tense social setting; 2. A period of time during which a television show is broadcast without an audio portion.
Man 1: How was the blind date? Man 2: OK, but we ran out of things to say while we were at the bar. When we sat down for dinner, neither one of us could think of a thing to say. It was 100% dead air for about five minutes. Man 1: So you didn't get laid? Man 2: Asshat.
Also in the dictionary
- dead air in mechanical engineering