A reverse phone book can come in very handy. How?
Let's assume your wallet or pocketbook has simply gotten too bulky to carry around anymore. You decide to clean it out. Amid the credit cards, photos, grocery discount cards and receipts, you come upon a note with a phone number. Written in red. Underlined twice. You have a vague memory of writing the number down and you know it was important... but for the life of you can't remember whom it belongs to!
Or maybe you drop some change in your car. As you reach between the bucket seat and the console to get it (those meters never sleep!) your fingers pull up a scrap of paper with a phone number scribbled in masculine numbers in thick black pencil. Next to the number is a "happy face" with a mustache and "x's" for kisses. It isn't your writing. It isn't your husband's writing. But your 16-year old daughter did borrow the car last week. Well now wait a minute...?!
Or how about that party on Saturday night when you met two suitors? You were happy when Suitor #1 slipped a phone number in your pocket, but you only accepted a number from Suitor #2 to be polite. You get home to find two slips of paper with no names on either! Which phone number belongs to the dream date?
Would you like to know who owns all of these numbers without calling them? Now you can!
A reverse phone book allows you to enter a known phone number and receive in return the accompanying name or business associated with it. It's called a "reverse" directory because rather than using the name to look up the number, you're using the number to look up the name!
There are several forms of reverse directories for various purposes. For instance you might enter a street address to get the name of the occupants; or you might enter an area code to get the matching zip code.
For a handy online reverse phone directory, try: ReversePhoneDirectory