He was ready to hang up to drop the bomb.

[Brightsun]

I don't understand the underlined sentences.
-------------
Question 1 ( P 371 in the Pelican Brief)
She had called at four in the morning. She had chitchatted for twenty minutes. And she waited until he was ready to hang up to drop the bomb.

In this sentence, what does 'hang up' and 'to hang up to drop the bomb' mean?
------------------------
Question 2 ( p 372 in the Pelican Brief )
These were not the type of men you could rustle out of the bunkhouse and send in to fight. They had to be found and hired, and he'd been promised as many as possible by the end of the day.
--------------------------------------
I'd appreciate your kind help!

[BobK]

Originally Posted by Brightsun

I don't understand the underlined sentences.
-------------
Question 1 ( P 371 in the Pelican Brief)
She had called at four in the morning. She had chitchatted for twenty minutes. And she waited until he was ready to hang up to drop the bomb.

In this sentence, what does 'hang up' and 'to hang up to drop the bomb' mean?
------------------------
Question 2 ( p 372 in the Pelican Brief )
These were not the type of men you could rustle out of the bunkhouse and send in to fight. They had to be found and hired, and he'd been promised as many as possible by the end of the day.
--------------------------------------
I'd appreciate your kind help!

1: 'Hang up' [end a telephone conversation]and 'drop the bomb' [give some bad news] are separate ideas with different subjects. She waited until he was about to hang up [expecting nothing more than further chitchat] before she gave him the bad news.

2: Someone had promised to find for him ('he'd been promised') such men (skilled/practised/specialist fighters)...

b