{"id":4174,"date":"2022-06-03T16:14:07","date_gmt":"2022-06-03T16:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/?p=4174"},"modified":"2022-06-03T16:14:07","modified_gmt":"2022-06-03T16:14:07","slug":"oscar-mike-meaning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/oscar-mike-meaning\/","title":{"rendered":"Oscar Mike \u2013 Meaning, Origin and Usage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Did someone tell you \u201c<em>Oscar Mike<\/em><em>\u201d<\/em> after asking them where they were? What does this mean? Did they forget your name or something? This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression.<\/p>\n<h2>Meaning<\/h2>\n<p><strong>The expression \u201c<em>Oscar Mike<\/em>\u201d means that you are on the move to a destination. You could be using any form of transport or walking from your base to the rendezvous location. The term \u201c<em>Oscar Mike<\/em>\u201d is military jargon, and it consists of a shortening of \u201c<em>On the Move<\/em>\u201d to \u201c<em>OM<\/em>.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the military phonetic language, the letters \u201c<em>O<\/em>\u201d and \u201c<em>M<\/em>\u201d are pronounced as \u201c<em>Oscar<\/em>\u201d and \u201c<em>Mike<\/em>.\u201d Radio operators use the phonetic alphabet for clear, concise communications with teams, operators, and field bases.<\/p>\n<p>The saying is more commonly used in ex-military operators integrating into civilian life. However, many civilians that have no experience in the military will use it to describe that they are on the move.\u201d It\u2019s a similar idiomatic expression as \u201c<em>10-4<\/em>,\u201d the police code for \u201c<em>copy<\/em>\u201d or \u201c<em>understood<\/em>.\u201d Many civilians use it, regardless of having no police experience.<\/p>\n<h2>Example Usage<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re Oscar Mike to the location. We\u2019re around three clicks out, and we should be there in ten minutes. Let us know when the target arrives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHey Jim, Oscar Mike, It\u2019s time to leave for the game, or we\u2019ll be late.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKids, this is it. Oscar Mike, everyone into the car. Let\u2019s start this family road trip to Disneyland right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re Oscar Mile en route to the location, our ETA is around five minutes, and we have the package in hand, ready for the exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey are Oscar Mike en route to the safe house right now, boss. Do you want us to take them in transit or wait till they arrive?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re Oscar Mike to your place right now. Give us around twenty minutes. Traffic is a beast right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet\u2019s go. Team, we\u2019re Oscar Mike to the training camp, and we don\u2019t make any pitstops along the way for anything. Does everyone understand?\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-4175\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Oscar-Mike.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"120\" height=\"119\" srcset=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Oscar-Mike.jpg 208w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Oscar-Mike-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Oscar-Mike-120x120.jpg 120w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 120px) 100vw, 120px\" \/> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-medium wp-image-4176\" src=\"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Oscar-Mike2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"92\" height=\"112\" \/><\/p>\n<h2>Origin<\/h2>\n<p>The expression \u201cOscar Mike\u201d comes from military origins. The US armed forces adopted the phonetic alphabet for shorthand communications in 1927, with the current adaptation being refined during World War II.<\/p>\n<p>The US Military standardized the same phonetic alphabet across all its branches in 1941 to simplify communications. The Royal Air Force also uses a similar phonetic alphabet, \u201cAble Baker,\u201d for radio communications.<\/p>\n<p>The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, or NATO alphabet, also relies on the \u201cAble Baker\u201d structure. Ex-military personnel might use terms like Oscar Mike outside of operations in civilian life. Some gamers that enjoy the \u201cCall of Duty\u201d franchise may use it in online communications with other players.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"We&#039;re Oscar Mike\" width=\"512\" height=\"288\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/vYvNZSpNqrE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Phrases Similar to Oscar Mike<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Passing through.<\/li>\n<li>Heading toward.<\/li>\n<li>Making headway.<\/li>\n<li>In passage.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Phrases Opposite to Oscar Mike<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>At a standstill.<\/li>\n<li>Close-mouthed.<\/li>\n<li>Clammed up.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>What is the Correct Saying?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Oscar Mike.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Ways People May Say Oscar Mike Incorrectly<\/h2>\n<p>The phrase has nothing to do with people's names. If you have a friend named Mike or Oscar, you're not asking them to drive, and they don't have any incentive to drive either.<\/p>\n<h2>Acceptable Ways to Phrase Oscar Mike<\/h2>\n<p>You can use the phrase \"Oscar Mike\" in situations where you want to give a military-style edge to your communications with your family and friends. If you're leaving for vacation with the family, you could tell your kids that you're Oscar mike and the next stop is the beach.<\/p>\n<p>If you're with your friends, you could tell everyone to get in the car because Oscar Mike, you're on the way to the game. It's comm0on for ex-military people to use the code more than civilians, but many gamers use it when playing online games in the \"Call of Duty\" franchise.<\/p>\n<p>It's also suitable for text communications. You could text your friends \"OM\" or Oscar Mike\" to let them know you are on your way to meet them at a location.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"mb-2\">Did someone tell you \u201cOscar Mike\u201d after asking them where they were? What does this mean? Did they forget your name or something? This post unpacks the meaning and origin of this expression. Meaning The expression \u201cOscar Mike\u201d means that you are on the move to a destination. You could be using any form of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4174"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4174"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4320,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4174\/revisions\/4320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/english-grammar-lessons.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}