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Five by five is a radio communications expression that means 'loud and clear'. One of the fives represents the S units of reception strength. The other five is a rating of the signal clarity. Five by five is a good, clear signal. The radio use of this expression goes back to the 1950s: "'All right, testing, one-two-three-four. . .' 'Five by five, Mr. Holloran!'" (Hunter, Blackboard Jungle, 1954).
The more metaphorical meaning, popularized by Faith Lehane from the television show Buffy the Vampire Slayer, wasn't recorded until the 1980s.
The use of the word is primarily used in the military, or when discussing something similar.
"'I hope everything's all right.'
'Yeah, everything is five by five'"
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Loud and clear. From military erminology. Old radios had two readings. Loudness and clarity rated from 0-5. Thus five by five means literally loud and clear.
How's my signal?
Five by five.
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Term meaning everything is OK.
The term comes from old radio slang. When communicating over radio, the operator would report the strength and clarity of the signal on a scale of 1 to 5 each. Therefore, if a radio operator described the signal as "five by five" it meant it was both loud and clear.
I don't use the phrase "five by five" because they use it on Buffy.
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A term used by Faith on Buffy, to discribe a situation as ok.
I'm feeling five by five
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a term used in the military to say everything is in order. another way of saying squared away or ship shape.
"Is everything in order?"
"Everything is five by five"
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Everything's cool. Derived from radio terminology.
John's got a five by five attitude about love.
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