n.
The distinctive white cord and earbuds associated with the often-stolen Apple iPod digital music player. Also: mug-me earphones.
Example Citations:
Police call iPod assaults an epidemic, not unlike the spate of violent swarmings in the 1990s where the prizes were expensive running shoes and jackets. But iPods are more valued because one size fits all.
"They're ubiquitous," Vancouver Police Constable Tim Fanning said. Nearly every young person has one or wants one. Users are easy to spot, sporting the white ear buds, often referred to as "mug me" earphones.
"For a thief, it's like a crow seeing something shiny," Constable Fanning said.
—Zosia Bielski and Jane Armstrong, " iPod loyalists: They'd rather fight than ditch: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081115.wipod15/BNStory/National/," The Globe and Mail, November 15, 2008
Police suggest people make themselves "less attractive" targets by being discreet when using the devices in public, swapping out Apple's identifiable white earbuds (sometimes coined "mug me" earphones) for generic black ones, having the serial number on hand in case of theft, and personalizing the device in some way.
—Misty Harris, " iPod kerfuffle: http://www.canada.com/topics/technology/story.html?id=65c4d04c-e146-4f25-9d61-799546d3c634," Canwest News Service, November 18, 2008
Earliest Citation:
Unsuprisingly, [iPod] customers would prefer to be robbed than be seen wearing something less trendy than the trademark mug-me earphones.
—"iPun," chamary.com, February 16, 2005
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New words. 2013.