five by five
Signal strength perfect
Five by five comes from radio communication, where signal strength and clarity are each rated on a scale of one to five.
Five by five means both are at maximum—the signal is loud and clear.
The phrase has spread beyond radio to mean everything is fine, working perfectly, or fully understood: How's the connection?
Five by five.
- affirmativeExpressing agreement or consent
- copy thatAcknowledgment of communication
- loud and clearAudible and unambiguous
- understoodGrasped the meaning
- clearWithout obstruction or fog
okay · acknowledged · perfect · optimal · copacetic · good to go · all systems go · signal · signal strength · reception · squawk · communication · roger · read you · come in · radio check · Buffy · status
- radio lingoroger, copy, over, out, 10-4
- Aviation Slangroger, mayday, pan-pan, squawk, affirmative
- catchphrasescatchphrase, why so serious, cowabunga, good grief, yabba dabba doo
five by fiveunreadable
Cannot be deciphered
garbled · static · one by one · inaudible · weak signal
five by fivelanky
Tall and ungainly thin
beanpole · willowy · stringbean · gangly · slender
five by fiveFUBAR
Irreparably messed up
compromised · not okay · problematic · troubled · out of whack
five, fives, fifth, fifths, fifteen, fifteens, fifteenth, fifty, fifties