Rock_Steady Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Just out of interest - due to a conversation I had earlier this week - does anyone know why pilots say " roger" after communicating on a radio? Also I have commonly heard the expression "Tally ho" to which I've also heard "Sally ho". Which one is correct and where did they come from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 From Wikipedia: Roger — "I have received all of the last transmission" in both military and civilian aviation radio communications. This usage comes from the initial R of received: R was called Roger in the radio alphabets or spelling alphabets in use by the military at the time of the invention of the radio, such as the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet and RAF phonetic alphabet.[4][5] It is also often shortened in writing to "rgr". The word Romeo is used for "R", rather than "Roger" in the modern international NATO phonetic alphabet. Contrary to popular belief, Roger does not mean or imply both "received" and "I will comply." That distinction goes to the contraction wilco (from, "will comply"), which is used exclusively if the speaker intends to say "received and will comply". The phrase "Roger Wilco" is procedurally incorrect, as it is redundant with respect to the intent to say "received".[6] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brillomaster Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 you can read the Wikipedia page relating to Tallyho. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tally-ho 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coldel Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Actually I really find it intriguing as to the origin of sayings - my personal fave is 'Flash in the pan' which (I believe) originates from when muskets were first invented and used on the battlefield. The pan was where the gunpowder was kept on the weapon and the hammer would strike the pan sparking and igniting the powder forcing the ball bearing out the weapon. On many occasions in the early use of muskets they were very unreliable and mostly used from distances of no more than a few metres with the user often faced by charging soldiers armed with swords and the like. The unreliability often caused the powder to flash and the ball bearing not to exit the weapon, which left the user somewhat defenceless and facing imminent demise, hence, Flash in the Pan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted November 3, 2015 Author Share Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) Actually I really find it intriguing as to the origin of sayings - my personal fave is 'Flash in the pan' which (I believe) originates from when muskets were first invented and used on the battlefield. The pan was where the gunpowder was kept on the weapon and the hammer would strike the pan sparking and igniting the powder forcing the ball bearing out the weapon. On many occasions in the early use of muskets they were very unreliable and mostly used from distances of no more than a few metres with the user often faced by charging soldiers armed with swords and the like. The unreliability often caused the powder to flash and the ball bearing not to exit the weapon, which left the user somewhat defenceless and facing imminent demise, hence, Flash in the Pan. I love that too. Apparently the phrase " to pay through the nose " came from when the Vikings - or possibly the romans - collected taxes. If you didn't pay, they'd cut your nose off. Hense paying through the nose. "As thick as two short planks" is supposed to be "As thick as two shore planks" planks that were used to stop a large boat bouncing off the harbour wall once it had moored. Edited November 3, 2015 by Rock_Steady Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ioneabee Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 my favourite is "not enough room to swing a cat" cat referring then to the whip for flogging on a ship 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboy2 Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 2 I have heard of and never know if true POSH (port out starboard home) and was told it's for sailing in and out of Portsmouth for the best views. And GOLF (gentlemen only ladies forbidden) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimboy2 Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 Turns out both are false. Google has ruined the fun for me 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tommoger Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 It stands for: Received Orders Given Expect Results. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stutopia Posted November 3, 2015 Share Posted November 3, 2015 (edited) I was looking into the origin on proverb, "you can't eat the cake and have it (too)" and found a much more pleasing Tamil equivalent on Wikipedia. "[to] desire to have both the moustache and to drink the porridge" Edited November 3, 2015 by SuperStu 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 my favourite is "not enough room to swing a cat" cat referring then to the whip for flogging on a ship Love it!! makes perfect sense now rather than grabbing your local moggy to see if there is enough room when looking at a new house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rock_Steady Posted November 4, 2015 Author Share Posted November 4, 2015 I've heard that the phrase " to push the boat out" comes from the time when Vikings would put all their worldly goods on one vessel including themselves once they were dead, set alight and pushed out to sea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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