Up, Down, Over and Out

Posted by Dan McDade

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on Dec 30, 2013 9:20:00 AM

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2013 to 2014I woke up thinking about the Frank Sinatra classic "That’s Life" this morning and thought the following was a pretty good description of my life since 2008:

I've been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, 
a poet, a pawn and a king. 
I've been up and down and over and out 
But I know one thing: 
Each time I find myself flat on my face, 
I pick myself up and get back in the race. 

Words are so powerful! Examples:

The words "up", "down" and the phrase "over and out."

I don’t want to overcomplicate this, but look at the number of definitions for the simple word "up":

Adverb—Toward the sky or a higher position: "he jumped up"

Preposition—From a lower to a higher point on (something): "she climbed up a flight of steps"

Adjective—Directed or moving toward a higher place or position: "the up escalator"

Verb—Do something abruptly or boldly: "she upped and left him"

My son and his friends greet each other with “What up?” The phrase is actually based on Bugs Bunny’s famous question: “What’s up doc?” In the seventies the phrase was “what it is” (variations include “what’s going on” and “how’s it hangin”). Detroit natives popularized “what up, doe” and eventually that was simplified to “what up” and in some cases “what.”

On to the word "down":

What does “I’m down with that” mean?

According to English Language & Usage if you are down with something it means that you have knowledge of something or are in agreement with it. I'm down with science means "I am familiar with science" or "science is a good thing."

Now for "over and out" from Wikipedia Voice Procedure:

Some words with specialized meanings are used in radio communication throughout the English-speaking world, and in international radio communication, where English is the lingua franca.

    • Over—I have finished talking and I am listening for your reply. Short for "Over to you."
    • Out—I have finished talking to you and do not expect a reply.

A few more have interesting descriptions:

    • Roger—"I have received all of the last transmission." 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.
    • Ten-four—it’s a part of the '10' code system of radio etiquette that means 'messaged received' or 'affirmative.' The '10' codes were developed in the 30's with the advent of short wave radio communications as a way of reducing the amount of talk time where only one person can talk at once and messages need to be quick. It was, and is still used by the military, police/emergency operations, film sets and just about any operation that uses walkie-talkies. It's also a way as to not alert anyone who may be eavesdropping as to what is happening in the current operations if that person is not trained in the codes. Currently the 10 codes are numbered from 10-1 (which means "I'm receiving poorly/please repeat") all the way up to 10-200 which is a request for police presence at a specific location. The receiver of a 10-200 would ask the sender what their 10-20 (location) is.

Wilco—I understand and will comply (WILL COMPLY = WILCO), also from Voice Procedures. Note that "ROGER" and "WILCO" used together are redundant, since WILCO includes the acknowledgement of ROGER.[

So: what up, loyal readers? I am down with whatever you have planned for New Years! Over and out for 2013.


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Topics: Prospect Development, Lead Management, Announcements


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