But if you knew what the number was, you'd understand why. It's a special number (I was extremely lucky in the allocation) so breaks down very nicely that way.

Also, I can sing it to the tune of Pulp's "Disco 2000". If that doesn't sound too crazy.

I took a phone call from an elderly lady who was in the early stages of dementia. It took five minutes for her to successfully write down a 6 digit telephone number, which I read out to her slowly, one digit at a time, with frequent back-tracking.

Having made a record of it, she couldn't remember what the number was for.

If it's not given out in 5-3-3, it all sounds like gobbledygook to me.

I type it like that, with spaces. Similarly, I get very upset with people doing London phone numbers as 4 3 4 when it's clearly 3 4 4.

Must admit never thought about it but as I am a 6-3-2 or it could be 3-3-3-2. I assume this must make me odd I suppose

....that's too many fours, isn't it....no wonder I can never remember my mobile number.

3-3-2-3

and if I don't use that rhythm I can't remember it.

I can't remember any mobile numbers. I have to put my own number into contacts on my own bloody phone!!! But I can still reel off "proper" phone numbers from years ago - my late parents, aunties, long lost mates, work, ex girfriends.

Is it my age?

It's the law.

Really. It is*

I'm the opposite of Bob re. London phone numbers in that I get mildly irritated if someone says '020' and then pauses before giving either a 7 or an 8.

But then I'm very old and was living in London when it was still 01.

Fuck.

*isn't.

leaves me as confused as those threads where people writes down names of train (tube?) stations or talk about monkeys dressed as famous people.
I'm unsure in this case if my confusion comes from not owning (or indeed ever having used) a mobile phone or from not being British or a combination of both.

with a keeper, a sweeper and one in the hole

so it's 2-4-3-2; as for my home phone - 4-3-4. That's a more attacking formation.

And don't start on Yorkshiremen - there are many of us on here.

I say mine as 5-2-2-2, but only because the second set of two is a pair and it feels wrong to split them across a 3-3.

Every other mobile no. I know is 5-3-3 in my mind.

So I always write them down and save them in my phone as:
+44 4-3-3.

Or for a London landline number:

+44 2-4-4.

I do love America, where every phone number is configured the same (notwithstanding their curious delight in spelling out words like 1-800-THRIFTY, and so on).

does anyone know any other mobile numbers?

Though I believe there's a bot on Twitter who "corrects" people if they incorrectly space telephone numbers.

I've always liked how the French say telephone numbers. They split them into groups of 2, but rather than say the individual digits, they say the two-digit numbers. So, 123456 becomes twelve, thirty-four, fifty-six.

Michael McIntyre has the answer

Portsmouth and Southampton are interesting for local codes. A while back it was 01705 or 01703 xxxxxx until the exchanges started sweating at which point it became 023 92xx xxxx or 023 80xx xxxx (plus probably some more prefixes now)

People still haven't grasped it and regard the prefix as 02392 or 02380 and the six-digit number as theirs.

For reasons still unexplained, the buffer-zones of neutrality between Southampton and Portsmouth have the codes 01489 and 01329.

Probably to avoid fighting.

...in my head, but I think I say it more 2 - 3 - 3 - 3...obviously, I like the more flexible formation when, ahem, playing away....

0 ... oh ... er, hang on ... 0...07..er actually it might be better if I call back later.

... but there's no reply" - City Boys

How quaint the 4 digit phone number seems now.

I'm very lucky to have an easy to remember mobile phone number. But only because it spells out a rude word in the second half. Anyone who's had too much time on their hands and a calculator will know exac'ly what I mean.

6-2-3

Gosh I'm weird.

3-2-3-3

It's 5-3-3 (in the UK).

Why? Because number ranges are assigned using the first five digits as an operator specific code. For example, 07818 XXX XXX was a block of numbers originally assigned to Vodafone.

And yes I know that number portability mucks up range block assignations. I know far more than a sane person would ever want to know about that particular issue and its impact on billing.

Stop me before I start on the North American Numbering Plan...no, please do.

Home and mobile. It's the easiest format for anyone to remember - yourself or anyone you're reading it to.

"LittleFoxyVille 123", on the assumption that the dialling code (the 5) and the village (the first 3) are a given. I quite like the fact that they expect to speak most frequently to locals, and that they expect anyone ringing in from the wider world to already know the whereabouts of LittleFoxyVille. I really like the fact that they once presumably only needed to dial the last 3 to get a neighbour, the pub, the shop or the bobby. A curse on technology, it's spoiled things a little.

..within my first 5, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th digits are all the same (7, as you've already guessed).

Problem is I've had the same number for 18 years but never settled on a satisfactory way of communicating the first 5 digits. Should I say

oh triple-seven four;
oh treble-seven four;
oh seven (pause), double-seven four;
or oh-seven-seven-seven-four?

I think I have most success with the first one, except for with Americans who just don't get the triple.

but I prefer the French way for my land line:
020 2-2-2-2