I’ve seen (ph) after someone’s name used to mean that he had earned a Purple Heart, but here it seems like some variant of (sic), indicating that “consummating” is what Bono actually said, even though it doesn’t mean what he thinks it means.
What does (ph) stand for in this case, and is this a common usage?
In court transcripts, it usually means that the reporter is working from a recording, isn’t sure exactly what word the speaker used, and is giving a phonetic rendering of what it sounds like.