wall wart
n. The blocky plug/transformer combinations used with modems, telephones, and other consumer electronics.
Examples
1998
DED requires a wall wart (power supply) that supplies between 6-12volts of DC power with a minimum of 100 Ma capability in order to operate.
—Robert Thompson, “How to Evaluate CD Players — and How NOT to Enhance Their Performance,” Sensible Sound, November 01, 1998
1995
One final note on connections: Except for the NEC AudioTower SpeakerSystem and the Advent Powered Partners AV570 speakers, the speakers we tested come with modular power supplies — known derisively in the electronics business as wall warts.
—Christopher Breen, “Blasting on a budget: speakers to jazz up your Mac,” MacUser, September 01, 1995
1990 (earliest)
Furthermore, rather than having local power at the attendant desk ("a wall wart," as Mr. Williams so cleverly put it), the Centracom console is powered by a UPS System in the backroom. The power is fed to the console via the skinny wire.
—Ed Leibowitz, “Tone Commander's cute consoles for Centrex environments,” Teleconnect, February 01, 1990
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Posted: October 04, 1997